Today a new law brought by the Islands (Scotland) Bill has come into force to ban public bodies from using maps that display Shetland in a box rather than in its natural geographic position 150 miles north of the Scottish mainland. The BBC article about the law, instigated by Islands Lib Dem MSP Tavish Scott and supported by many who live on the Shetland Islands, uses a version of Maproom's Outline Map of Scotland to illustrate the news item. Now, whilst we are delighted to spot one of our maps getting a lot of attention, we want to point out that this map and most of our other Scotland and UK maps have always offered designers the option on whether to show Scotland in its accurate geographical position or in an inset box. Shetland in its natural position puts a lot of sea on the map, with mainland Scotland taking up only half the available space Shetland in a box is a more efficient use of space – but this is now BANNED on official documents With a ... Read more
Our London base map used in BBC drama Bodyguard
Maproom has signed a number of release forms for TV production companies in recent years, and we were pleased to spot our London Street Map being used to good effect in the new BBC series Bodyguard last night. Our map appears in a scene in which actor Gina McKee, playing Commander Anne Sampson of the Metropolitan Police's Counter Terrorism Command, has a team tracking a terrorist cell online whilst police race through South London to try to stop the terrorists reaching a school. The production team used one of our base map versions then added some moving coloured dots to signify the police car and terrorists' van moving down Brixton Road. The Bodyguard series is so far displaying itself a tightly woven fiction using many real locations, real BBC newscasters, and plausible events that echo the kind of real terrorist attacks we've experienced in the UK over the past decade. The tension ratcheting up in the first 20 minutes of Episode 1 made for compelling viewing, ... Read more
Maps for travel guide to islands in the River Thames
Carl Goes London Islands cover Maproom recently had the pleasure of providing map bases for a delightful new travel guide in the creative and distinctive Carl Goes series. The book, called Carl Goes London Islands, tells stories of the islands and islanders of the River Thames. With Maproom's parent company being Thameside Media, the River Thames is close to our studio literally and in our hearts. Not only that, we also have a special interest in travel guides, having published many ourselves over two decades (though never specifically for the Thames). Thus we were delighted to oblige when Sascha Mengerink, the Netherlands-based publisher of the Carl Goes series, asked Maproom if we could provide detailed map bases of the Thames Valley showing all the islands set within the River Thames between the mouth of the river at Canvey Island in Essex upriver through central London to the tiny eyots and aits in the Thames in Surrey and Berkshire. We were able to oblige with map bases ... Read more
China is now censoring world maps
It has been brought to our attention that Chinese authorities are now subjecting world maps to a process of verification to ensure they conform to China's sovereignty claims. For example, the depiction of disputed territories such as Taiwan and islands in the South China Sea and gas fields in the East China Sea must conform to Beijing's official view. Map projection, affecting the size of China in comparison with the rest of the world, is also under scrutiny. These restrictions affect all products sold in China, including maps on merchandise and within books, and they also affect maps printed in China on products destined for markets outside of China. The latter are now being impounded at Chinese customs whilst the authorities examine their origination and design. Consequences for products deemed to violate Chinese sovereignty may include fines and the order for companies to withdraw and destroy products. Recent cases include Gap being forced to apologise for selling T-shirts ... Read more
Only In Edinburgh – beautiful and erudite new travel guide using Maproom maps
Maproom's parent company, Thameside Media, is closely associated with illustrated travel guides, having produced dozens of travel guides for different publishers over the years, including Eyewitness Japan, Blue Guide India, Real City Barcelona and Top 10 Algarve. This is why we were especially delighted and only too pleased to oblige when Duncan J.D. Smith, knowledgeable author of the Only In travel guides, approached Maproom to build custom maps of Edinburgh and her environs for his well-researched new guide, Only In Edinburgh. This guide is organised with thematic spreads delving into the more unexpected and unusual aspects of Scotland's capital. So that, rather than a dry description of St Mary's Metropolitan Cathedral, we leap into the story of Leith-born sculptor Eduardo Paolozzi, whose giant foot sculpture is installed in the cathedral forecourt. We trace J.K. Rowling's coffee hangouts and speculate on the manifestation of the real George Heriot's Castle, ... Read more
New postcodes district map for London
By popular request, we have created another version of the London postcodes map which covers the whole of Greater London and also includes the context of town names, London boroughs and major roads, including the M25 and arterial routes. Find it under Map of Greater London postcode districts with boroughs and major roads. The new map uses the same vector base as our best UK postcodes map but with more detail for Greater London, which is by far the densest part of the UK's postcode districts. The original Map of London postcodes is still available, which offers a simpler depiction of the central London postcodes, including the densest postcodes districts of the City and Westminster. ... Read more
New York, New York
Brand new for Maproom, editable map bases for New York. There is one version of the entire city with all its boroughs and surrounding areas. There is also a zoomed in version of Manhattan, which has road names, stations and districts labelled. ... Read more
Rivers map updated
We have updated our map of rivers to include hundreds more rivers: Map of British and Irish rivers and lakes. ... Read more