Humans are wired for stories. Long before written language existed, humans used stories to share information, communicate values, and establish norms. Stories and narratives engage our emotions and have been shown to boost knowledge retention. It’s no surprise, then, that narratives and stories are also effective when paired with maps.
In this edition of Behind the Map, Allen Carroll and I discuss the power of storytelling with maps and why it’s become so popular. Carroll founded the story maps team at Esri, currently serves as the program manager for storytelling, and has even written a book on this very topic. He’s also a 27-year veteran of National Geographic, serving as art director of National Geographic Magazine and chief cartographer at National Geographic Maps. Learn more about Carroll’s journey and his inspiration for fusing maps and storytelling in the video above.
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Allen Carroll
Allen Carroll founded the story maps team at Esri. Prior to joining Esri in 2010, he worked at National Geographic for 27 years in a variety of positions, including art director of National Geographic Magazine and chief cartographer at National Geographic Maps.
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