I couldn’t believe my eyes last night! As I was scrolling through Twitter, something caught my attention in a photo of Vice President Kamala Harris.
There she was, holding up a color-coded map of the United States, and I instantly recognized it – it was made with MapChart!
The map in question was being used by VP Harris to illustrate abortion access status across different states. It was a surreal moment, seeing something I’ve poured so much time and effort into being used in such a high-profile setting.
I was, of course, able to immediately recognize it as being a MapChart map, as it has the exact same label arrangement, font, text size, and uses the patterns available on the US states map on the website. I have worked hundreds of times on this SVG file to instantly know its MapChart origin.
Curious to see if this was a one-time occurrence, I did some digging. To my amazement, I found a couple more instances where Harris used similar MapChart-created props while addressing the same topic. It seems our maps have become a go-to resource for her team.
Here is the full list of what I could find:
1) During the First Meeting of the Interagency Task Force on Reproductive Healthcare Access:
This is by far the most high-profile instance of a MapChart map I have ever seen.
In a White House meeting for a newly-inaugurated task force, with President Joe Biden himself attending, VP Harris showcases a US states map made with MapChart. Unbelievable!
And here is the trimmed down video from the event:
2) During a discussion on reproductive rights with Karen Bass and top Planned Parenthood exec in Los Angeles:
Another event on reproductive rights, with VP Harris using the map as a prop for the audience:
Also, in this one, you can clearly see the MapChart-generated legend, using the default Century Gothic font.
Video from the event:
3) During a Reproductive Rights roundtable with New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham:
And finally, the one that triggered my search on this, from a roundtable in New Mexico:
Video from the talk:
Finally, here is a collection of articles from prestigious websites using all these images: Politico, CNN, The Guardian, The Independent, Elle, Vox, LA Times.
As the creator of MapChart, I’ve always believed in the power of visual aids to simplify complex information. These events all happened some time during 2022, but the images from them are still circulating around, showing how powerful the image of a map can be.
This discovery is a testament to how far MapChart has come. What started as a simple idea – to create an easy-to-use tool for making custom maps – has grown into something used by everyone from students to government officials in the highest level.
The fact that the Vice President’s team chose MapChart speaks volumes about the tool’s user-friendliness and effectiveness. They could have used any resource available to them, but they chose my platform. It’s a powerful endorsement that motivates me to continue improving and expanding MapChart’s capabilities.
To all users out there – from classrooms to the White House – thank you for choosing MapChart. Your trust in it inspires me every day. And who knows? Maybe the next map you create will end up in the hands of a world leader!
Stay tuned for more updates, and happy mapping!