blog/Process

A New Home for Field Papers

| 03.28.23

By Jess Beutler (OpenStreetMap US) and Alan McConchie (Stamen Design)  OpenStreetMap US is excited to announce the adoption of Field Papers into the suite of tools we support for the larger OSM community. Over the course of 2023, Stamen and OpenStreetMap US will be working together on this transition and develop a plan for sustainable...

Connecting the Dots: How Data Products and Design Help Address Systemic Threats

The myriad and complex challenges of addressing climate change can feel overwhelming, but when you combine the wealth and power of data available with communication strategies, it becomes possible to imagine a future where we are valuing conservation, relying on renewables, promoting efficient industrial, consumer, and agricultural processes, and not pumping greenhouse gasses and pollutants...

Visualizing critical disaster data with ReadyMapper

| 03.08.23

With climate-related natural disasters on the rise, it has become increasingly obvious that we lack the tools to provide useful information as crises unfold—the venn diagram of crucial data and real-time communication has painfully little overlap. Since early 2022, Stamen has had the pleasure of working with CrisisReady and Direct Relief to create ReadyMapper, an...

Data Hierarchy Best Practices to Elevate Your Data Visualizations

| 03.02.23

At its very core, data visualization has two main components: representation and interaction.

When Creating a Digital Map, Know Your Options

| 02.23.23

Digital maps are everywhere. Through real-time data feeds and integrations, maps can turn into comprehensive multi-purpose tools within your organization, as well as a core part of operations, logistics, and customer-facing products. Geospatial analysis and location intelligence is a business priority for all industries, including governmental agencies, non-profit organizations, telecommunications groups, manufacturing and retail. At...

Down In the Sewers Tracking Viruses with WastewaterSCAN

| 02.16.23

Late last year, Stamen worked with the group WastewaterSCAN to build a new home for the group’s public-facing charts that visualize the data they collect from wastewater treatment plants across the US. If you’ve been keeping an eye on the latest data regarding COVID-19 and other viruses like RSV, you might have noticed that there...

Now THIS is Podcasting

| 02.15.23

There’s a story behind everything; it’s that special context that flavors your experience when reading your favorite book, poring over your favorite map, or listening to your favorite podcast. At Stamen, we love talking about process, working openly, and, you guessed it, telling stories. We want to share the story behind Pollinate, the Stamen podcast:...

How the Vast Spectrum of Data Fuels Your Data Visualization Project

| 02.03.23

One of the biggest myths about data visualization is that you have to have the “right” kind of data to tell compelling visual stories.  But, when data visualization only focuses on leveraging numerical facts, it becomes inherently limiting in ways that science, research and discovery were never meant to be.  There’s a better way.  Researchers...

Why Discovery-Driven Data Visualization Prototyping is Essential

| 12.13.22

Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) collect and generate vast amounts of rich data. Those datasets hold power to help NGOs increase their reach by more clearly communicating their mission, vision, and results to a variety of key audiences, including funders, clients, beneficiaries, academics, the media, the public, and employees.  But as any NGO data scientist or communications...

Stamen + MapLibre

We are happy to share that we have begun work on improving MapLibre Native with technical leadership by Wet Dog Weather and funding from AWS. MapLibre Native is an Open Source SDK for rendering maps on mobile and other devices. We at Stamen rely on map renderers to display the beautiful maps we create for...