A library of handcrafted vector linework for cartography, each designed in a unique aesthetic style. They are meant to break us away from default line paths that we so often rely on by providing more visually-interesting alternatives.
Linework sets are available in the following formats: Shapefile, GeoJSON, and Adobe Illustrator (PDF & Inkscape compatible)
Project Linework is released to the public domain. Please credit the author and the project wherever possible.
Say hello! Contact Daniel Huffman at somethingaboutmaps@gmail.com
We’re excited to announce two new linework sets today: Moriarty Hand, by Dylan Moriarty, and Weekend Update, by Jonah Adkins!
Both are hand-drawn, and provide a quick and easy way to infuse your digital map with the humanity of manual linework. Moriarty Hand is also our second linework set with complete global coverage, and our first hand-drawn one to reach this milestone. From Indonesia to Central America, it’s got you covered.
Project Linework’s new homes comes with a few updates but aims to keep things simple. All of your linework sets currently include downloads in four file types: Shapefile, Geojson, Topojson, and Adobe Illustrator. These have been hand-crafted for your use in any way you please.
The download packages are hosted by the GISCollective and the website is running completely on Github pages with jekyll. The most up-to-date linework sets can also be found on Github, but we urge you to download from the links on the website for fully-functioning data sets.
The Project Linework file types are all useful in their own way. TopoJSON is an extension of GeoJSON created by Mike Bostock that creates its geometry through shared topology. TopoJSON files effectively reduce redundancy by only recording a shared point once instead of multiple times for multiple polygons within the file. Bostock explains it best:
TopoJSON is an extension of GeoJSON that encodes topology. Rather than representing geometries discretely, geometries in TopoJSON files are stitched together from shared line segments called arcs. TopoJSON eliminates redundancy, offering much more compact representations of geometry than with GeoJSON; typical TopoJSON files are 80% smaller than their GeoJSON equivalents.
So, TopoJSON files are smaller, which is great! Most people will use these files in accordance with the d3.js visualization library. See an example of Project Linework TopoJSONs in action.
With this simplification process, it is important to understand your own map and needs. Project Linework’s TopoJSON files are all quantized at magnitude of 1e5 so the map can render at full detail in greater zoom levels. If you do not plan to make use of portions of your data at high zoom levels, look into installing and...
With the coming of the NACIS annual conference, Project Linework releases in full with a new home here at projectlinework.org. We’re excited to announce the first official series of linework sets here. Below are the seven new sets: