Barely Maps: A Cartographic Masterpiece of Minimalism and Memoir
Explore the Art of Cartographic Minimalism with Barely Maps by Peter Gorman
Peter Gorman is barely a cartographer. And now Peter is barely an author, too.
Barely Maps: the Book by cartographer Peter Gorman is available after a successful Kickstarter campaign. Peter describes the book as part maps, part design, part travel, and part memoir.
Originally inspired by a one-year, 11,000-mile, solo bicycle trip around the U.S. and Canada, Barely Maps is a collection of 100 minimalist maps. It's also a story about the bike trip, the designs themselves, and all of the other stuff—before and after.
The new book is 208 pages and retails for $39.
For those unfamiliar, Gorman is a fine cartographer of extreme but exquisite minimalism. Two demonstrations of Peter’s brand of map-making:
Peter’s work is wonderfully and beautifully simple. This is no easy feat nowadays. With the sheer amount of data and tools at one’s disposal today, filtering down to a bare minimum such as this is as monumental an effort as any other map-making venture. Perhaps more impressive, because it is so easy to add more and more to a map now than ever before.
Gorman provides a refreshing juxtaposition to our current moment when so much of cartography, map-making, and GIS is overly detailed and complex.
Looking at a Gorman is a meditative experience. The colors, the design, and the subject are so obviously intentional and focused. The maps narrow the gaze of the viewer, both demanding your attention and rejuvenating it at the same time.
View more great maps at Peter’s portfolio, Barely Maps.