Sundowner's Map

I admit that a streetmap is first and foremost for navigation. Normally, we abide a bit of advertising and interspersed icons for significant sites about the map, to more easily find parks, schools, downtown, and events.

What maps lack in any degree is a sense of topology. What do driving directions from someone on the street, such as "go straight, turn left at the second light, go straight about a mile and when you get close you'll see a row of stores on the hillside to your left" mean when you glance back at your map? The map is flat, 2-D. Thank god the person who gave you directions knew the road was straight and that you'd be slowing down for the hills because, on your map, all the streets look straight and all the corners look square.

If maps could incorporate chiaroscuro (kyä-rõ-skö'rõ) -- a visual effect produced by light and dark shading -- or some other form of shading, the map reader's sense of depth would be used to better understand the way the area really appears to someone on the street. I thought that "Sundowner's" represented shading cast by the position of the sun over the map area at sundown (Late afternoon), for the sake of consistency between areas.

This idea was sparked by seeing a handmade map of the one mile square area around our facility. The artist had simplified the street layout represented by rows of pointillated trees and had represented landmarks figuratively by exaggerating their presentation and angle. The effect was blindingly simple and very concrete and I've since used the product as a handout when answering requests for directions. (Instead of spending 15 minutes answering "How do I get out of here?") I've seen advertising pamphlets and board games done like this, but I can't say if a tool exists to produce this effect.