MapCarte 183/365: The Iraq-ISIS Conflict in Maps, Photos and Video by New York Times, 2014

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Click the image to view the online story and maps

It’s quite possible that with every new story the New York Times graphics department do their utmost to out-do even themselves. Their maps have already featured in MapCarte and at the half-way point it’s a fair bet that one of the remaining 182 posts will feature their work.

This example illustrates how to combine a range of illustrative media into a coherent story. Their isn’t a single map or image, technique or dataset that would convey the story in a singel pane or a few web pages. The solution is a scrolling page that reveals new insights as you progress through the imagery and text.

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The maps are not complex. In fact, they are relatively simple affairs yet simplicity is often the key to communication. Each is used to tell a specific dimension of the story and they expertly mix topographic diagrams with small multiples, point of interest maps with satellite imagery.

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The selection of just the right map type with just the right amount of detail is what makes this example of web-based reporting (story-telling?) so compelling. You want to scroll and learn more. You are encouraged through the work to want to explore and to have them reveal more.

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Perhaps the most exquisite aspect of this example of cartographic storytelling is that the maps are web-based yet they are static. There is simply no need for interaction, click events, popups or animations. Simple, static maps that are individually balanced and well designed but collectively present a rich visual narrative. A good lesson in cartographic restraint.

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