NACIS 2026

Wayfinding Maps for the Museum of Exploration
Harrison Cole, The National Geographic Society
The National Geographic Museum of Exploration (MOE) relies on a variety of wayfinding maps to guide visitors to and throughout its space. And while wayfinding maps are indeed commonly referred to as “maps”, they often call for unique design and production approaches, distinct from, for example, a locator map on exhibit signage. My talk will explore the range of wayfinding maps created for the MOE, and how they might differ from more conventional reference or thematic maps.

Creative Cartography for Better Freight Planning
Meg Fredericks, CPCS
Griffin Rock, CPCS
The freight planning industry in the United States has traditionally valued functional visuals above design-driven maps and data visualizations. In our work at CPCS, we lean into setting ourselves apart by placing a higher value on cartographic design. Using static and interactive visualizations, we’ve transformed complex and occasionally dry datasets into maps that tell a story, influence policy decisions, and appeal to broader audiences. We’ll provide examples of freight maps that won over our clients and were ultimately featured in public-facing reports.

Leveling Up the Bus: Exploring Alternative Transit Cartographies
Carlos Gonzalez, Syracuse University
US transportation mapping is notorious for prioritizing car infrastructure. To oppose this tendency, I present alternative transportation maps for Syracuse, NY that center transit. I start by altering traditional transportation mapping conventions to only show bus lines before adopting more creative styles that capture the emotional journey of transit, a sense of space for bus lines, and a sense of place for destinations. I then offer a map showcasing the absence of transit on a regionwide level. I conclude with future challenges and opportunities for transit cartography.

Pixel by Pixel, Map by Map: Designing a VR Environment to Study How We Navigate Differently
Susannah Cox, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Bruno Wu, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Understanding how people navigate space requires tools capable of capturing the nuance of that process. This project developed an immersive VR environment in Unity for the Apple Vision Pro to study how adults with ADHD navigate compared to typically developing adults. Working on an emerging platform meant navigating a steep learning curve and solving unforeseen challenges along the way. This involved extensive trial and error, requiring us to rebuild the experiment from a pre-existing study and implement creative solutions to ensure participant comfort. The result is a functional, research-ready virtual environment for exploring how different people move through and make sense of their surroundings.

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Pittsburgh District's New Schematic Map
Erik Breedon, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Pittsburgh District
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Pittsburgh District manages federal water management and inland navigation projects in the upper Ohio River watershed. While not as dizzying as Pittsburgh's street network, it's a difficult map to fit on a piece of paper. Acknowledging and inspired by 100 years of transit maps, geographer Erik Breedon simplified the hydrography and dozens of civil works projects in the district's area of responsibility into efficient schematic maps. This visual-heavy presentation will explore the evolution of these map products and the cartographic design decisions made along the way.