Andrew Douglas-Clifford

Cartographer and Geospatial Professional

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I’m someone who loves to look at maps a lot, so naturally I love making them as well!

Over the years, I’ve made a hobby and business out of map making, exploring a wide range of cartographic styles, topics and locations. Each map that you see on this site has been a building block to developing technical and creative skills throughout my career, all while using the craft to learn more about the world though maps.

GIS and cartography sit at the intersection of two areas I am passionate about: technology and geography. I take pride in my work, and even greater pride in seeing the positive impact that it has on the world, no matter how great or small!

Biography

My career began studying a Bsc. Geography and Masters in Geographic Information Science (MGIS) at the University of Canterbury. For my Master’s thesis research, I studied the role of crowdsourcing in improving public transport passenger feedback systems, which I completed in April 2017. 

In 2016, I established The Map Kiwi. Initially as a blog to share my maps, the exploding popularity of the New Zealand State Highway Metro Map on social media saw my work reported in the New Zealand Herald, Stuff, and on an interview with John Campbell on RNZ’s Checkpoint programme. I used this momentum to start a business designing and selling a range of iconic maps, which have since made their way into thousands of homes and businesses across New Zealand and worldwide.

Today I work full-time as a professional consultant at an engineering and environmental consultancy, which takes the majority of my available time. However, I continue to share my works on this website and social media, as well as designing and sell prints on my web store.

Awards and Recognition

New Zealand State Highway Maps

Some of my more well-known work includes the New Zealand State Highway Metro Maps, which received wide national attention in May 2016 online and in the media. It won the New Zealand Cartographic Society’s People’s Choice Map Award, which was held at the biannual GeoCart Cartography conference located in Wellington at the end of August 2016. I was also a finalist in the 2016 Spatial Excellence Awards in the Undergraduate Category, and a recipient of the New Zealand ESRI User Group Postgraduate Scholarship 2016.

Te Reo Māori Map of Aotearoa New Zealand

Reported on by RNZ, my series of Te Reo Māori place name maps of Aotearoa New Zealand and the world have become widely taken up by many schools, businesses and groups across the country interested in learning more about the Māori names of places in their communities. To date, these maps have been some of my best selling work.

In 2018, I was nominated for the Student of the Year award at the New Zealand Spatial Excellence Awards, but was honoured to instead come away with the NZ Cartographic Society Award for Best Map Design for my Te Reo map.

Murky Waters: Unmapped Areas of Sea Floor

In 2022, I was selected for inclusion in the North American Cartographic Information Society (NACIS) book Atlas of Design, Volume 6, a publication which showcases the best of cartography from around the world, with my map Murky Waters: Unmapped Areas of Seafloor.

Nobody Lives Here map

The Nobody Lives Here (showing areas in New Zealand that are not inhabited) is a map with a simple concept, that cconstantly seems to be re-appearing in social media. It initially went viral on Reddit before appearing on Newshub.

Nelson Climate Adaptaion (Tonkin + Taylor)

In my capacity as a Geospatial Consultant at Tonkin + Taylor, I’ve had the privilege of working on projects with others such as Nelson Climate Adaptation, a story map for Nelson City Council’s public consultation on future coastal flooding risk. This project has been featured in the media and has won multiple awards, including Most Innovative use of Data for Storytelling in the 2022 ArcGIS StoryMaps Competition, and a Highly Commended Award in the Community Impact Category at the Spatial Excellence Awards. It also won Best Digital Map at the GeoCart 2022 National Map Exhibition and was a finalist in the Eagle NZ StoryMaps competition.

The Map Kiwi is the brand that I create and sell my maps under.  With a focus on embodying the diversity and beauty of Aotearoa New Zealand, The Map Kiwi designs print maps that across a variety of subjects and locations. 

A lot of the maps that you’ll find on this site are available to purchase from the shop. Every print supports the work that I do!

The Map Kiwi Store

Services

The Map Kiwi offers the following cartography services:

  • A range of unique, high quality map prints available in our online shop and for retail resale
  • Fully customised printed map design for a range of styles and purposes (limited availaibility):
    • Printed and digital maps, such as materials for brochures, website imagery and other media
    • Large format maps, such as detailed wall maps
    • Modificication to our existing map designs for other purposes
    • Maps for books, publications and narrative storytelling

Please note that as our services are focused is on fully custom map design, we do not offer general geospatial or data management services, or supply maps published by others.

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