This map is a redesign of a redesign. The original map it was intended to replace felt a bit cluttered with aerial imagery, and was very ink-intensive to print, so I wanted to try to make something that was both clear to read and conservative on ink, as it is a popular print request around the office. Two years before making the version shown here, I made an iteration that was one of the first projects I made using ArcGIS Pro, so it was a helpful exercise in getting familiar with that (at the time) new software. A couple years later, I revised the map (featured here) and did away with the original “heads-up” number system in favor of a reference grid. I also added a new color scheme that was more inline with the modern Florida State Parks branding and made a bunch of other small improvements—including masked labels, beefier borders, and a replacement for the generalized bathymetry using a geometric water pattern that saved on even more ink. Other additions include some subtle reference data like roads, lakes, and urban areas, as well as 9 hidden Florida animal doodles for readers to find, which were all drawn by hand.

Good luck finding them all!