Greetings Cartographers and Cartophiles!

My name is Dave Robison and I’ve been a fan and admirer of the Cartographers Guild for years! The crafting of illustrative and evocative maps is a compelling art form and one of the most engaging formats of storytelling in the world. This community not only fosters and celebrates that art, but contains many of the Rembrandts and DaVincis of the field!

For the longest time, I was content to watch and admire the work of the Guild and its members from the sidelines. Recently, however, I find I may be able to contribute in a more tangible way to the community.

I’m the founder of Wonderthing Studios, a creative foundry for several projects (podcasts, e-zines, etc.) that celebrate the storyteller’s craft. We recently launched an online story development and presentation platform called ARCHIVOS. It’s essentially a visual wiki that allows storytellers to document the people, places, and events of their story worlds and then view that network of story elements through three unique interactive displays.

I felt this might be of interest to this community because one of the displays is The Living Map. It allows storytellers to upload maps of their story setting and then pin the significant events and features to it. This creates an interactive map experience, presenting not only the geography of the setting, but providing immediate access to illuminating details and information about that geography.

My intent in joining the Guild is to learn more about the experience of maps and mapmaking and to celebrate it with my fellow cartophiles. By understanding the HOW and WHY of this exquisite storytelling format, we can inspire more curiosity and wonder in our audiences... and that makes for better stories.

Cheers!