*Teatime Talk* My Cartographic Journey: Themes, Approaches, and Reflections. Speaker: Atlas Guo, University of Wisconsin–Madison Date: Thursday 14th May 2026 Time: Join from 18:45 for a 19:00 start. Venue: Virtual (Zoom) ​​ www.cartography.org.uk/teatime-talks

Today is World Book and Copyright Day, and I got a fun little idea: using some LEGO rotating parts to make a mini book. After adding a few stickers of my maps, it turned into a mini LEGO map book!📖 #LEGO #LegoMaps #LegoMOC #CartoGuophy

Finally caught this year’s #EarthDay crafting with a #LEGO topographic / bathymetric map of #Antarctica, a reminder that even the most distant places on #Earth are part of our shared #climate future. #ThereIsNoPlanetB #LegoMaps #LegoMOC #CartoGuophy

I’m truly honored my United States of Rising Hazards received a Bronze Medal in the #SND47 Creative Competition! Huge thanks to the Society for News Design for this recognition! This is especially meaningful to me as my first formal recognition in the field of #NewsDesign. 🏆 #EarthDay #Cartography

After a week at #Emory, my #LegoMaps are on the move: smaller pieces are now at Bricks & Minifigs Grayson #MOC Display, while larger ones are at #UGA Map and Gov Info Library (MAGIL), with the #LEGO #Georgia Map permanently donated to them. Hope they bring a little joy wherever they go!

My #LEGOmap collection was on display (4/9-4/16) at the lounge of Environmental Sciences Department, @emoryuniversity.bsky.social , coordinated by Prof. Xiao Huang. 🌎🗺️ #Emory #Map #Cartography #LEGO #MOC

Thanks so much for featuring my #Climate Visualized static map poster (cartoguophy.com/maps/koppen....) and #webmap (cartoguophy.com/climate-visu...) in @visualisingdata.com Newsletter Issue 23 📊(visualisingdata.kit.com/posts/the-vi...) #DataVisualization #DataViz

The Big Ten GIS Conference 2026 is happening today (Apr 17, 10am-4pm CST). It’s a FREE virtual event featuring #GIS #geospatial research and practice across the #BigTen and beyond. I’m glad to have two entries in the map gallery. Take a look here: gin.btaa.org/mapgallery 🌎

#LEGO #ScienceHall #UWMadison #Wisconsin, home of Department of Geography and Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies 🗺🏰🌎

I revisited my #AthensGA #Cycling Map, renaming it from “Inverted Street Hierarchy” to “Cyclist Survival Map of Athens” to make its message more persuasive—through a stronger title, clearer high-risk road labels, a more consistent symbol system, and a safer-to-dangerous legend. ⚠️🚴🏻‍♂️ #GIS #Cartography

Recently I bought some pieces from a second-hand #LEGO parts store and built several landmarks I know well: #WisconsinStateCapitol, #UWMadison #ScienceHall in #Madison, #GeorgiaStateCapitol in #Atlanta, and #AthensGA City Hall. Here are the builds along with a few reflections.✨

Grateful to Dr. Xiao Huang for inviting me to give a guest lecture at Emory University. I was glad to share my cartographic work with the students, and have my LEGO maps on display in the department for a week. I would be very happy if my visit sparked some interest in cartography among students.✨

Deeply honored by the invitation from @bcsmaps.bsky.social to give a virtual Zoom presentation next month (Thursday, May 14). Very grateful for the opportunity to share my cartographic work, the thinking behind the design, and a few reflections. The link will be announced by BCS later. 🌍

The liftoff of #ArtemisII reminds me of my #LEGO #Moon map (cartoguophy.com/lego/lego_mo...). I don’t know much about #astronomy or #selenography, so I learnt a bit more and labeled the major lunar surface features (many names are really poetic!). If you want a quick overview too, check it out! 🚀🌑🌕🔭

#Apple was founded on April 1, 1976. Its rainbow logo became one of the most iconic symbols in computing history. Last summer, I created an #Apple-themed topo map of #California. Now, I redesigned it as a #LEGO model, as a cartographic tribute to celebrate #Apple50 birthday.🍎🌈🗺️ #ThinkDifferent

☘️🎶 As an amateur Irish whistler, I’ve kept noticing many tunes are tied to Irish places. Inspired by Benjamin Becquet’s Irish Tune Map (data: @thesession.org), I built this #WebMap: ATLAS OF TRADITIONAL IRISH MUSIC. I’d be very grateful for suggestions and feedback: cartoguophy.com/irish-trad-m...

🏆I am deeply grateful to have two of my maps recognized in 53rd #CaGIS #MapDesign Competition: 🌍one explores global #climate through interactive #cartography and #DataViz; ⛰️the other one is a #Yosemite reference map paying tribute to #NationalParkService design.

I love #Savannah ’s rich history, beautiful architecture, artistic atmosphere, Irish presence, and its unique urban form: neatly arranged wards and squares stretching from the riverfront to #ForsythPark. After seeing #StPatricksDay parade I’d long wanted, I designed this #LEGO map to honor it~ 🏘️

☘️ As an amateur tin/low whistle player and #Irish music fan, I have previously made #Ireland maps in watercolor and #LEGO (some combined with the UK). To celebrate the coming #StPatricksDay, I built a SNOT (Studs-Not-On-Top) LEGO Ireland map using vertical mosaic technique.🗺️ #Cartography

Happy Pi Day! In this #LEGO experiment, I tried the vertical/sideways mosaic technique, also known as SNOT (Studs Not On Top) building. It’s challenging but really fun! The color scheme for the digits comes from my personal preference (number-color synesthesia). #PiDay

Huge thanks to Wisconsin Land Information Association for recognizing my maps in 2026 annual conference map contest. I truly appreciate the support and encouragement from this community! As a small token of appreciation, I designed a #LEGO #WLIA logo, which includes a folded map of #Wisconsin. 🗺️

After many requests for phone viewing, I added a mobile mode to my award-winning map “Climate Visualized.” The interface now fits phones, tablets, desktops, and ultra-wide screens.📱 Suggestions are greatly appreciated: cartoguophy.com/climate-visu... #climate #cartography #dataviz

Recently I tested a new design style for my North America #LEGO #topographic map, but I am not sure which works better. Which one do you prefer? A. Individual round tiles B. Continuous surface tiles

I was told that before sunrise on 3/3 we might catch a #BloodMoon (#TotalLunarEclipse), just coinciding with the Chinese #LanternFestival! 🏮🌕 (next time in 2054...) Unfortunately, thick clouds hid the moon, so I turned to my #LEGO moon again and turn it into a blood moon 🌝

So happy to receive the printed #ArcUser! Seeing my work in a magazine that reaches hundreds of thousands feels exciting and humbling. Thanks again #Esri for helping this little #LEGO #cartography experiment reach more people. Grateful for readers’ kind messages too! 😊 www.esri.com/about/newsro...

As a #Pokemon enthusiast, I rebuilt #Kanto region as a LEGO-style map to celebrate 30 years of #Pokémon, first introduced with Red/Green on 2/27/1996. Map based on FireRed & LeafGreen, with badges inspired by #LEGO set 40892. Made this pretty quickly tonight, so let me know if I got anything wrong~😊

Sharing a recent research byproduct: rounded 1M-pop gridded #cartogram based on 2025 #population, totaling 342 units. It's not easy to balance recognizable state shapes with accurate adjacencies. In #LEGO form, I also added cities in 1M-pop increments. Which of the two styles do you prefer? 🟨🟡

Since I displayed my customized North America Map at a #StarWars themed #LEGO event on “May the 4th” (“May the Force be with you”), it has received so much love that I later added a #MillenniumFalcon to join the fun. The map highlights the filming locations around North America.

#HappySpringFestival #YearOfTheHorse #ChineseBlessing #LEGO

Heart-shape world map again, but with #LEGO! 💌🗺️ #HappyValentinesDay #ValentinesDay #Valentine

Introducing ClimateVisualized, my latest #webmap to visualize global #climate & #Koppen classification system on a 1° grid using monthly #temperature and #precipitation data. Try the "climate glyph" mode to explore monthly patterns in a creative way. (Desktop viewing recommended) #DataVisualization

On Feb 7-8, I brought my #LEGO maps to #AtlantaBrickCon, my first convention of this kind. In a world obsessed with size, my maps felt modest, but many visitors offered kind praise and saw strong educational potential. Interested? See more of my #LEGOmaps on dedicated page: cartoguophy.com/lego.html

🐿️Today (2/2) is #GroundhogDay, a folk tradition to forecast the winter using a simple sign. In terms of #Climate, I recently designed a glyph-based map visualizing the global pattern using Köppen classification, embedded into a #DataVisualization #inforgraphic .🌦️ cartoguophy.com/maps/koppen....

Unexpectedly, the #WinterStorm web map I built last week becomes useful again so quickly: another cold outbreak is forecast for #NorthCarolina, #SouthCarolina, #Georgia, and #Virginia this weekend. Note: this dataset (WSSI) shows potential impacts and does not replace forecasts. ⚠️❄️

Jan 28th is #InternationalLEGODay. I was preparing prints of my #LEGO maps for next weekend’s #AtlantaBrickCon, one of the largest LEGO fan conventions in the U.S., with 10K attendees in a nearly 100K sq ft venue. Excited to share my physical maps and these digital designs there! 🧩🗺️ #Cartography

I used satellite imagery over #Nashville, #Tennessee from before (1/22) and after (1/27) the recent #WinterStorm to estimate #PowerOutage at a finer spatial scale, based on changes in nighttime radiance. Source: NASA Black Marble Nighttime At Sensor Radiance. 🛰️❄️🪫🗺️ #WinterStormFern #DataVisualization

I made a map visualizing the customer count and percentage of #PowerOutage as of 6 AM CT on Jan 26, following the severe #WinterStorm over the weekend. #Nashville stands out as the hardest hit area in terms of outage numbers. #WinterStormFern #DisasterMapping #DataVisualization

I tried to update my #WinterStorm maps more frequently during these critical days❄️, but NOAA’s data was updating even faster than expected. So I turned it into a web map, so anyone can check the impacts for the next 1–3 days: cartoguophy.com/winter-storm/ (desktop viewing recommended)

Updated image on Sun, Jan 25 at 4 AM ET.

Updated image on Sat, Jan 24 at 10 PM ET. #StormFern #WinterStorm #SnowStorm

Increasing hazard situational awareness is always worthwhile, and disaster maps are never excessive. I made this US #WinterStorm map with a dark background (save battery during outages), a vertical layout (mobile viewing/sharing), colorblind friendliness, and county/city references. Source: #NOAA

Updated my Historical #Hurricane Tracks map, plus a 2025 highlighted version. The 2025 #AtlanticHurricaneSeason saw no major hurricane make landfall in the U.S., but #Jamaica was severely impacted by #HurricaneMelissa. More info: cartoguophy.com/maps/histori....

Joyfully celebrating National #Sticker Day (Jan 13) by sharing my freshly made homemade #map stickers (randomly placed), including some unpublished ones. They fall into several categories: #LEGO based, hand-drawn, reference map, and fun graphics. Let me know if any particular ones stand out to you!

Mappy New Year 2026! 🗺🚲 #map #cartography #LEGO #cycling

Wrapping up 2025 with my #30DayMapChallenge, finished in two months. Grouped results show #LEGO leading with 12 maps, traditional #GIS at 11, craft and painting at 6, plus one #AI generated map (1/3 entries used AI tools). Looking forward to my journey of #cartography in 2026! Happy New Year! 🎨🗺️

#30DayMapChallenge | Day 14 OSM | This map challenges the idea that streets belong to cars, even so-called sharrows that still feel unsafe. Using an inverted speed-limit hierarchy, fast roads fade. Bold bike infrastructure reveals how broken and fragmented the biking network is.

#30DayMapChallenge | Day 30 Makeover | During #NACIS 2025, I tried colored-pencil sketching and drew my own #Yosemite map on the gallery panel. Recently, I revisited it by recoloring with watercolor to strengthen the shading and adding some labels. ⛰🖌 Original map: cartoguophy.com/maps/yosemit...

Just made a #Christmas themed #LEGO #Madison map with a touch of holiday humor. Merry Isthmus!🎄 #MerryChristmas #MerryIsthmus #HappyHolidays

#30DayMapChallenge | Day 26 Transport | After Atlanta, I made another #LEGO transit map of #Madison Metro Rapid BRT. Smooth lines failed on diagonal routes, so I returned to a pixelated version. I spent really long time designing the capitol building, and hope it serves as the finishing touch! 😊

#30DayMapChallenge | Day 29 Raster | Another experiment in large scale thematic #LEGO mapping. With a 0.1-mile grid, I built a citywide 3D elevation map and colored the top tiles of each cell by category. Colors reference the #Lawrenceville 2045 Character Areas map (www.lawrencevillega.org/241/Maps)