Starting Strong — Tackling the First Week of the 30 Day Map Challenge with Cadence

November kicks off with the 30 Day Map Challenge, a celebration of creativity, geography, and storytelling through maps. If you’re joining in for 2025, Cadence is the perfect tool to help you get started. Whether you’re a seasoned GIS professional or new to mapping, Cadence makes it easy to upload data, style maps, and share them online.

Here’s how you can use Cadence to approach the first week’s challenges. Happy mapping!

Remember to share your maps with the hashtag #30DayMapChallenge for a chance to win cash prizes and Cadence Professional licenses.

1–3 November: Classic Geometry (Points, Lines and Polygons)

• Points: Upload a CSV of places or GPS locations, then style them as clusters, heatmaps, or icons. If you don’t have your own data, you can also explore the Cadence Databank by type and category to find the data you need. From here, you can adjust colours, size, and intensity to showcase the data exactly how you want.
• Lines: Try visualising rivers, cycle routes, or migration paths. Use the Annotations tool to draw your own lines, or use the built-in analytical tools such as Desire Lines to highlight commuter flows.
• Polygons: Upload shapefiles or GeoJSON, use our in-built boundaries and geometries, or create your own polygons using the Annotations tool. Once you’ve got the polygons you want, use our easy-to-use styling tools to bring them to life.

Remember – once you’ve designed your map in Cadence, you can share it in a single click.

4 November: My Data
Make it personal. Upload a commute, a bike ride or walking route as a GeoJSON and then try the Camera feature. The Camera feature can turn these static routes into animated visualisations of real journeys. Adjust altitude, speed, and viewpoint to create smooth, cinematic experiences to share your journeys. Then publish as a Story online – what a great way to share your data.

Find out more here:

5–8 November: Earth, Dimensions, Accessibility, Urban

• Earth: Use elevation data, soils, or agricultural maps to show the “ground beneath your feet.” Cadence supports raster and polygon overlays to bring these features to life.
• Dimensions: Experiment with Cadence’s storytelling tools — use charts, multiple layers, 3D visualisation or Camera movements to explore different dimensions in your data.
• Accessibility: This one’s perfect for Cadence’s dynamic isochrone tool, which calculates how far you can travel from a given location. Great for visualising access to transport or services.  Make sure to use our easy styling features to differentiate the look and feel, creating something truly unique.
• Urban: Explore our extensive Databank for your city — visualise density, infrastructure, or compare different neighbourhoods with Cadence’s in-built urban data. Why not explore some of the built-in 3D basemaps to enhance your visualisation?

The first week is all about experimenting with data types and getting comfortable with Cadence. Remember, you don’t need complex GIS software — Cadence is designed to be simple, shareable, and professional. Sign up today for free Professional access through November, and start creating maps you’ll be proud to share.