The Greatest Map of the U.S. Ever Made?

Slate has a wonderful article about David Imus' 2-year quest to design a new map of the United States:

David Imus worked alone on his map seven days a week for two full years. Nearly 6,000 hours in total... But Imus—a 35-year veteran of cartography who’s designed every kind of map for every kind of client—did it all by himself. He used a computer (not a pencil and paper), but absolutely nothing was left to computer-assisted happenstance. Imus spent eons tweaking label positions. Slaving over font types, kerning, letter thicknesses. Scrutinizing levels of blackness. It’s the kind of personal cartographic touch you might only find these days on the hand-illustrated ski-trail maps available at posh mountain resorts"

Steve Clowney