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Back in 2021, I offered some advice for critiquing the works of others, mostly with mapmaking in mind, though it is perhaps applicable to some other fields. I wrote it because, in the early 2020s, there was a more conscious recognition that our field sometimes tends toward toxic critique and social media mockery of efforts we consider amateurish. That attitude helps no one, though.

Years later, I decided to make a little printed handout, for distribution at conferences or posting at workplaces. I formatted it in A4 size, even though I’m based in the US, as I had recently ordered some fancy A4-sized Japanese paper that I thought it might look nice on (I’ll update this with images when I finally get around to printing).

I wanted a design that was very heavy on whitespace, which I think makes the text feel more relaxed. The type is set in Adobe Jensen. I think humanist serifs just feel particularly fancy and philosophical to me.