Map for Gamboa's World, by Christopher Albi

The book cover and the map, in the book.

Creative Brief

Crafted Product

Gamboa's World

Gamboa's World examines the changing legal landscape of eighteenth-century Mexico through the lens of the jurist Francisco Xavier de Gamboa (1717-1794). Gamboa was both a representative of legal professionals in the Spanish world and a central protagonist in major legal controversies in Mexico.

unmpress.com

Goal

The text below is paraphrased from the client, Chris:

Maps needed of Mexico for my book, Gamboa's World, about 18th century Mexico, to be published by University of New Mexico Press.
Pretty simple maps, one that shows western Mexico, centered on Guadalajara, and the other of historic mining districts.

Role

👋

My roles: Map Design

👋

Chris Albi, SUNY New Paltz History Professor

Process

Discovery

Observations

👀

The map would need to reproduce well at a small scale and grayscale.

👂

I read about Gamboa and had a phone conversation with Chris to make sure we were on a common ground.

📊

The essential data are the main cities, mining districts, and roads, with some topographic information for context.

🖍️

I used QGIS, Open Source mapping software, to make the initial sketch of the map. Then, I brought the map into Adobe Illustrator for cleaning, layering, and styling. One challenge is the QGIS data shows modern labels and roads, and this story is set in the 18th Century. I had to modify this data so that nothing was asynchronous with the time.

Concepts → Blueprint

Approach

This was my initial Concept after the Discovery process. Concepts aren't meant to be beautiful. They just need to point the way toward the right idea. Once I have the right idea, I can get the idea right, to quote information designer Bill Buxton.

Here, I had all of the modern-day places and roads. My task was then to clean up the map for readability, style to hint at its historic nature, and adjust markers and roads by researching 18th-Century sources.

Reflection

💭

I was delighted to contribute to an academic book. For me, these collaborations are my favorite because not only do I learn more about design, I also learn about the research my colleagues are doing. If there were more time, here are some things I'd like to do:

For the topographic relief in the background, I would hand-drawn contours lines look better than soft shading (like in old maps)? I'd like to try that out. See the reference (not as strong as this; more subtle)

Example of an old map style to emulate.

I would continue to tweak and polish to improve the styling along the coastline, where the edge of the sea begins.
I would provide more context. For example, should rivers or other physical features be labeled and more detailed?