Whether used to describe, explain, tabulate or decorate, maps and infographics offer visually beautiful ways to convey and distill information quickly and easily. Maps are guides. We trust them. They can make unreal place more real, and real places more manageable. They can point us where we want to go, help us find what is desirable and avoid what is dangerous, and navigate the unknown.

Maps, as well as other information graphics such as charts, diagrams and timelines, provide functional ways for a viewer to grasp a condensed glimpse of what is usually a huge body of information. But functional can also be beautiful, and that’s a primary goal here at Partners in Design when we undertake a mapping or information graphics project.

Whether we’re creating a visitor map and guide for the 53-acre Bellevue Botanical Garden; detailed property maps for the San Juan County Land Bank, a land conservation organization; schematic renderings to ease the public’s understanding of heron habitat or ecotourism sites; charts and diagrams to convey concepts of natural yard care or a fanciful map series to tell the story of an ancient Italian city built on a mesa promontory, we take information graphics seriously. Because we love to use maps and information graphics ourselves, we strive to make each one we design special.

Read more about our series of storytelling maps about Civita di Bagnoregio on our blog. Or visit our Etsy site to purchase.