Webinar: Avenza User Conference 2021 by Avenza Systems

About This Webinar

The Avenza User Conference is a free, day-long virtual conference for map makers, GIS enthusiasts, and geospatial professionals worldwide who share a common interest in Avenza mapping technology. The Avenza User Conference 2021 will be held on Wednesday, May 12, 2021, from 11:00 AM to 5:00 PM (EST).

The day will offer a mix of virtual sessions from presenters who will share their experience of using Avenza mapping products in their projects, mapping tips and tricks, product development updates from the Avenza team, and remarks from Ted Florence, Avenza President.

Ted Florence

President, Avenza Systems

Ted Florence is the President of Avenza Systems and directs the company in coming up with innovative solutions to the problems that plague the map-makers and map users of the 21st century. He is a professional engineer, who spent seven years as an international executive for a major pharmaceutical company followed by two years in the toy industry before joining Avenza in 1997 as an investor and vice-president. Ted took over the ownership and presidency of Avenza in 2000 and since has seen the company grow annually under his watch with a number of exciting and innovative products.

Opening remarks
11:00 – 11:15 AM

Nick Burchell

(Host) Director of QA & Customer Services, Avenza Systems

Nick has a BSc Hon. degree in Cartography and Geography from Oxford Brookes University. Formerly a cartographer, Nick has subsequently gained significant experience in leading Quality Assurance and Services teams in geoscientific and cartographic software. Nick is currently Product Manager for Avenza's desktop solutions, as well as having overall responsibility for QA on both desktop and mobile.

MAPublisher and Geographic Imager: Maps in Adobe Update!
11:20 – 11:40 AM EST

This presentation will provide an overview of the latest amazing features and enhancements we’ve developed for MAPublisher and Geographic Imager. I’ll also provide an insight into a selection of wonderful stories on how we continue to bridge the gap between GIS and high-quality graphics, directly within the Adobe environment.

Hans van der Maarel

Owner, Red Geographics

Hans van der Maarel is the owner of Red Geographics, a long-time partner of Avenza and user of MAPublisher and Geographic Imager. He uses the products for a wide range of cartographic projects for international clients, offers training courses and consultancy projects aimed at developing workflows for clients. In addition to that he is currently a board member of NACIS.

Magic Bus Maps with MAPublisher and FME
11:45 AM – 12:05 PM EST

We’ll show you how you can save hours by combining the power of MAPublisher with FME. In this presentation, we’ll share a customer story from one of Belgium’s largest public transit companies, De Lijn, about optimizing data with FME and creating maps with MAPublisher. This combination ensures not only that the maps are always up to date but allows room for cartographic details, which results in beautiful results.

Marikka Williams

GIS Professor, Sir Sandford Fleming College

Marikka Williams is a GIS Professor for the GIS Post Diploma program and Environmental Technician program at Sir Sandford Fleming College. She also serves on the BeSpatial / Urisa Ontario Board of Directors as Eastern Section Director, and as a GoGeomatics Peterborough Group Leader / Event Organizer to bring GIS professional development and networking opportunities to GIS practitioners. She has 20+ years of experience in the field of GIS which includes providing GIS services to support Municipalities and Engineering Consulting, as well as, educating College students about Geomatics in Surveying, Remote Sensing, Spatial Analysis, Data Visualization and Cartographic Design.

Mapping Memories of Australia: Maximizing the MAPublisher Toolkit
12:10 – 12:30 PM EST

In this presentation I share how I utilized Avenza MAPublisher functionality to preserve my memories from when I lived in Australia. The workflow that I developed enabled me to crop, filter, simplify and project spatial data from a variety of sources upon import, enrich data by spatially joining features to other features, render subsets of large datasets with queries, simplify and smooth geometries to improve the aesthetic of features, create a series of stylesheets to symbolize features based on queries, apply LabelPro filters to implement visual hierarchy techniques and rules to automate the strategic placement of labels, as well as, apply a graticule to provide a reference framework. The functionality of the Avenza MAPublisher toolkit saves time while also providing the opportunity to leverage the functionality of Adobe Illustrator to apply effects, integrate supplemental text and complete the map composition.

Tom Patterson

Cartographer, U.S. National Park Service (retired)

Tom Patterson worked as a cartographer at the U.S. National Park Service, Harpers Ferry Center, until retiring in 2018. He has an M.A. in Geography from the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa. Presenting terrain on maps is Tom’s passion. He publishes the ShadedRelief.com website, and is the co-developer of the Natural Earth dataset and the Equal Earth projection. Tom has served as President and Executive Director of the NACIS. He is now Vice Chair of the International Cartographic Association, Commission on Mountain Cartography.

Using MAPublisher to create the Natural Earth
12:35 – 12:55 PM EST

Most of us use MAPublisher to import and manipulate geospatial data when we make maps in Adobe Illustrator. My talk will discuss the reverse of this workflow—how I use MAPublisher to create and update Natural Earth vector data. Using recent hydro updates as examples, I will show how to generalize and smooth river and lakes, add attributes to these features, and how to export them as shapefiles. Besides MAPublisher, I use the standard tools in Adobe Illustrator, plus a couple of scripts that are available for free. This workflow, which combines the graphical capabilities of Adobe Illustrator and the geospatial awareness of MAPublisher, provides a visual method to create cartographic vectors. As I create the data, I can inspect the results on an actual map.

Robert Simmon

Senior Data Visualization Engineer, Planet

Robert Simmon is a data visualizer and designer at Planet. He previously worked at NASA, where he co-founded the Earth Observatory. He is an expert at crafting clear and compelling imagery from satellite data, focusing on visualizations that are elegant and easily understandable while accurately presenting the underlying data. He helped create some of NASA and Planet's most widely-seen imagery, including the Earth at Night, the 2002 Blue Marble, and collections of high-resolution oblique imagery. His work has appeared in newspapers and advertisements, on countless websites, and was featured on the lock screen of the original iPhone and the cover of National Geographic.

Making Maps with Satellite Data, Geographic Imager & MAPublisher
1:00 – 1:20 PM EST

At Planet, we have access to an ever-growing stream of satellite data, and the need to communicate its value to potential customers. Unfortunately, traditional photo editing and illustration tools aren’t able to interpret or utilize geographic information, and established geo-aware applications have limited tools for image processing and design. Avenza’s Geographic Imager and MAPublisher help us solve this problem, by reading geolocation information and providing the ability to manipulate geospatial data within Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator. In this talk I’ll describe the Planet data visualization team’s workflow, and how we move data between Photoshop and Illustrator to create clear and compelling maps based on satellite imagery.

Steve Rooke

Registered Forest Technologist, Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resources Operations, British Columbia

Steve Rooke is a Registered Forest Technologist who works as an Engineering Program Specialist with the British Columbia, Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resources Operations. In this role, Steve manages a range of Engineering projects from Major Forest Road Improvements that Supports Community Access to Rural Residents and Indigenous Communities in BC’s North to Road and Bridge Inspections. Steve has also created several YouTube Tutorial Videos that Supports users with quick how-to videos.

Avenza Maps for Work and for Play
1:45 - 2:15 PM EST

Steve will cover how he uses Avenza Maps for daily various work applications and how he integrates Avenza Maps with other Technologies to Achieve work goal objectives. For work, he uses Avenza Maps, daily for general navigation, creating Attribute Schema for Road Inspections, Wildfire Rehabilitation works and for many activities that the other great features Avenza offers. For Recreation, as an avid Fisherman, while he won’t share his fishing hot spot Coordinates with anyone, he uses Avenza while hunting down that Big Lunker.

Dorn Van Dommelen

Professor and Chair, Department of Geography and Environmental Studies, University of Alaska Anchorage

Dorn Van Dommelen is a Professor of Geography at the University of Alaska Anchorage. He teaches introductory geography courses, environmental policy, and geographic information systems. An avid cross country skier and orienteer, he uses his GIS and cartography skills to make orienteering and trail maps for local organizations.

Using Avenza Maps Pro to teach field methods and GIS
2:15 - 2:35 PM EST

Learn how Avenza Maps Pro is used in “Environmental Applications of GIS” to demonstrate to students how to capture field data, based on principles learned in a previous course, that is GIS-ready. Students use Avenza Maps Pro to collect transect, plot-based, and point count data. They build layers with a range of attributes and attribute types, collect sample data, and then download samples for visualization and later use in vector analysis.

Jeremy Apgar

Cartographer, New York-New Jersey Trail Conference

Jeremy Apgar has been the cartographer for the New York-New Jersey Trail Conference for 13+ years, creating maps to assist with all aspects of building, maintaining, and educating people about trails and the protected lands they traverse. He aims to produce trail maps that are simplistic in design, yet are detailed, accurate, and attractive. Prior to joining the Trail Conference, Jeremy received his Master’s degree in Earth and Environmental Sciences from Lehigh University, with research focused on developing methods for monitoring snowmelt and climate change in the Subarctic using GIS, remote sensing imagery, and fieldwork in the Yukon Territory, Canada.

Trail Map Design and Distribution using MAPublisher & Avenza Maps
2:40 - 3:00 PM EST

Trail maps have great power in their ability to safely guide trail users to amazing outdoor destinations. However, a bad trail map can make a trip unpleasant at best, or dangerous at worst. It is important to carefully consider design choices when creating a trail map, from broad styles down to the smallest details. Learn about some best practices for creating trail maps and how the use of both MAPublisher and Avenza Maps have played crucial roles in producing and distributing our highly-acclaimed maps, from the perspective of an organization with 85+ years of trail mapping experience in the New York Metropolitan area. All trail users, from casual walkers to experienced mountain bikers or hikers, should have access to a good trail map to make the most of their outdoor experience.

Ilya Savelyev

Avenza Maps Product Lead

Ilya joined Avenza in 2020 as a Lead Product Manager with a goal to revamp the Avenza Maps app by improving user experience and ensuring the successful evolution of the product. The same year a new Product and Design team was formed at Avenza to support the effort. In previous experience Ilya worked in telecom, designing and launching a number of cross-platform TV, VOD and VoIP apps. He also worked on e-commerce and CRM solutions for internet, TV and home phone services.

Avenza Maps Product Updates
3:05 - 3:25 PM EST

Avenza Maps has successfully become a product that has garnered a huge following of active outdoor enthusiasts and professional users. Ilya will provide an update on some of the upcoming and exciting product features of the next generation of the Avenza Maps app, including improvements to the customer journey, UI and UX.

Christian Baudchon

Avenza Map Store General Manager

Christian Baudchon has been an e-commerce entrepreneur for more than 20 years. He formed his first web agency in France in 1997 and received the Réseau Entreprendre award in 1998. His extensive experience in creating a leading online map store has contributed greatly to his current role as the General Manager of the Avenza Map Store where he focuses on maintaining relationships with the map publishers, building the digital map catalogue, and optimizing the e-commerce user experience. He loves travelling and recently went on a 14-month long journey of South America in a camper van with his family where he put his mapping skills to practical usage.

The Challenge of Finding the Right Map
3:30 - 3:50 PM EST

The Avenza Map Store is growing and there are some exciting changes coming. Christian will be sharing his journey of the Avenza Maps experience and what it’s like to work on a large digital map catalogue, to work with existing vendors, and to work on some very big features coming to the Map Store.

Steve Spindler

Cartographer, Steve Spindler Cartography

Steve Spindler has been using MAPublisher to design maps for planners, advocates and policymakers for 25 years. These maps typically show changing bike infrastructure in municipalities, states, and counties. In June 2020, while working on maps of the Erie Canal and Genesee Valley in New York, he biked with his 14-year-old daughter from Ithaca, NY to Niagara Falls and back. Steve’s personal website, stevespindler.com, includes maps intended to look like they are done in pencil or pastels.

The client said, “We have just a few edits.”
3:55 - 4:15 PM EST

What happens when you’ve just created 30+ maps and your client, in less than 10 words, asks, “Can you make the icons smaller?” How we set up our mapping processes affects our ability to create a map quickly and respond to client revisions. I’ll share my approach to getting on the same page with the client, data imports, video documentation, libraries, and data preparation. I use Dropbox for versioning, QGIS, and MAPublisher for data prep, and MAPublisher for cartography and virtual in-person editing.

Dave Clayton

Training & Community Manager, Astute Graphics

Dave Clayton is the Training & Community Manager at Astute Graphics, developers of plugins for Adobe Illustrator since 2006, a role he has held for 4 busy years! Dave is part of a Hereford, UK based team that deliver unique solutions that help keep the creative wheels turning. His main objectives are the production and management of training material for customers, including videos, blogs, online and live events, plus the development and growth of prominent ambassadors for the workflow and creative tools. Dave is an established instructor and author, teaching Illustrator, Photoshop and InDesign at various conferences in the UK, Europe and the US.

Creating visuals beyond maps with Astute Graphics plug-ins
4:20 - 4:40 PM EST

What happens when you finish the map in your mapping project? There’s actually plenty more to do! Dave will talk about going beyond the map using Astute Graphics plug-ins and will be providing an overview of some of the most used graphic design tools that can give your visual design project a boost in creativity.

Patricia Magnone

(Host) Customer Success Lead, Avenza Systems

Patricia has a background in Geography and GIS and customer experience and sales for more than 20 years. She enjoys nurturing leads, building relationships, and strengthening customer retentions.

Michael Law

(Host) Marketing Manager, Avenza Systems

Michael Law has an Hon BA in Geography and GIS from the University of Toronto and a Cartographic Specialist graduate from Fleming College. Michael has evolved roles in the GIS industry for almost 20 years including being a cartographer, an author and technical writer, a product application specialist, and is now leading the Marketing team at Avenza Systems.