Adam Symington is a geospatial data scientist and cartographer based in the UK. One of his projects, PythonMaps, uses the Python programming language as a cartographic canvas to showcase facts and phenomena from around the world. And they do so with elegance and artistry.
Symington’s maps frequently display a single variable or dataset. With few or no labels, no overlapping symbols, and occasionally no political boundaries, the data are left to speak for themselves. This simplicity gives clarity to the maps, which also commonly use scientifically appropriate color schemes. In doing so, the maps take advantage of how we as humans see and interpret information, while intuitive hues—like greens and yellows for forests— readily evoke the subject matter.
We’ve compiled a short list of some of our favorite examples of Symington’s work on PythonMaps.
Population Density of Africa
Rivers and Basins of North America
Global Shipping Lanes and Flight Paths
To date PythonMaps has shared more than 80 cartographic works. From shipping lanes and undersea cables to croplands and precipitation totals, PythonMaps provides numerous themes and examples to explore at both regional and global scales.
