| How Much Does This All Cost? |
Maps are a custom-made product and therefore it is hard to give really specific pricing wihtout knowing more about a project. However, cutom maps may be far less expensive than you might think and are always a great value. For example, some maps, like the one on the left, are basically to show where a place is. The map needs to be accurate, clear, and well-composed so that it conveys our professionalism to our client and perhaps to agencies or the public if the map will be part of a report or presentation. An advantage of having a professional cartographer make this map is that it makes use of publicly-available free basemaps and data. Additionally, I have many years of practice at such maps so that I can usually come up with a beautiful design quickly and with minimal direction from you, leaving you free to do the things you do best (and are most profitable for you). Because I can do all that fast and efficiently, the cost can be less than you spend getting coffee for your office staff. For that small investment, you receive an electronic file of the map that can be used over and over again. So, if you have a report, brochure, and presentation that all use the same map, you just pay once and can keep using that same file over and over again. |
Maps for books, such as personal narratives, memoirs, and historic fiction and non-fiction, require special creative approaches in order to have a feel and content that supports the story. Whether your piece is a book, short story, essay, and paper a map can be at once a synopsis of the story and provide a real sense of place and physical dimension to the readers' understanding and identification with the story and characters. The same advantages of using an experienced cartographer hold true of these types of maps. When publisher Craig Smith asked me to produce a map for the second edition of the fabulous memoir, "Miss Ulysses from Puka-Puka, I was able to use free, publicly available satellite photographs of the tiny atoll in order to create an accurate map. By setting it into its larger space of the Cook Islands and the South Seas the ready gets both a sense of where Puka-Puka is in the larger world but also a very visceral sense of its remoteness. I also sought to give it a graphic look not unlike older National Geographic maps, helping to match it to the timeframe of her experiences and to touch that spirit of romance and adventure that her story conveys. And because I work efficiently using as many publicly available copyright-free materials as possible, the cost of this map was less than many families spend on dinner at a restaurant. The price of the map was certainly a huge value considering its contribution to the telling of her remarkable story. |
| So, let's get started today. There is discuss your project so that you can discover what is possible and how much it will cost. Click here to contact us now. |
