Page 32 - ARUBA TODAY

A32 FEATURE
Wednesday 3 July 2019
State mapmaker brings creativity, whimsy to Ohio road maps

By JULIE CARR SMYTH slaps a piece of blank pa-
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — If per folded in an accordion
your summer travel plans or trifold into a co-worker's
involve traveling through hand then watches them
Ohio and you're still a fan try to unfold it. The least
of paper maps, it's time you cumbersome fold prevails.
met Bruce Hull. The process of creating a
He's the guy who's been new map begins with state
injecting visual flair, handy cartographers, who pro-
information and a hidden duce the actual road map.
bit of his own family history Then a host of other state
into Ohio's road maps for departments provide con-
almost two decades. Hull's tent, such as lists of High-
artistry has appeared on way Patrol posts or state
millions of maps helping campgrounds, and a mes-
drivers navigate the state, sage from the governor.
which has the nation's busi- Once all that material is
est highway system after in hand, Hull has free rein
California, Texas and Flori- over the remaining spac-
da. es. One year, his design
As a layout design artist resembled the front of a
with the Ohio Department refrigerator packed with
of Transportation since In this June 6, 2019, photo, Bruce Hull points to an image of his daughter on a state map as he is photos of Ohio attractions.
1989, Hull has creative con- interviewed at his offices at the Ohio Department of Transportation in Columbus. He always works to make
trol over the map's look Associated Press featured venues reflect the
and feel. He selects the im- diversity of the state's racial
ages, the design, the pa- for road, rail and motorcy- maps: including a photo of little numbers are the dis- and ethnic groups, its rural,
per, even the type of fold cle maps that, back then, his daughter. tances between inter- urban and natural land-
that's used. were assembled by an out- "Because we had seat belt changes, things like that. In scapes and its cultural and
"Initially, my goal was to side consultant. laws, I was looking for a case your power dies, you recreational offerings.
go to either New York, Chi- In those early days, photos stock picture of a kid in a won't get lost." Another of Hull's maps fea-
cago or San Francisco, were black-and-white, film car seat. I found one, but And those who know Ash- tured Ohio emblems, such
because those were the was developed in labs, lay- it was $160," he said with ley do recognize her from as the state mammal, bird,
big advertising meccas at outs were by hand and col- an easy laugh. The depart- the map, she said. insect and flower. Other
the time," said Hull, 60, who or was added using sheets ment balked at the ex- "It's not like my picture's in versions have featured
studied advertising at the of film cut to fit. Anything pense. "So I thought, well, Time magazine or some- Ohio's scenic byways and
Columbus College of Art resembling desktop pub- I've got a 6-year-old. I'll just thing," she said. "But it's just, Ohio's Native American
& Design. "Then life hap- lishing was a thing of the throw her in the back of the it's cute to have people tribes.
pened." future. van and take her picture." point out like, 'Hey I found During the state's bicen-
Hull fell in love, got married "Nothing was ever too Ashley Hull has appeared you in this information cen- tennial year, in 2003, Hull
and had a daughter. technical because it was in every state map since. ter at this park because adorned the map with a
He also happened to like just impossible to do at the Unbeknownst to most of you're on the map.'" timeline of Ohio history.
the variety of his job in com- time," said Hull. the general public, they've If you work anywhere near That included another sly
munications at the Trans- The first map he designed been watching her grow Hull's heavily adorned cubi- family reference: A photo
portation Department, on his own came in 2001- up — in photos while camp- cle, you also might be co- of his great-grandmother,
putting together posters, 2002. That's also when Hull ing, biking, driving or laugh- opted into helping out. To Sophia Mitchell , the first
newsletters, in-house pub- began what would be- ing with high school friends. determine the fold he'll use, black woman to serve as a
lications and visual panels come an inside joke on the "She's the most famous per- for example, Hull said he mayor in the state.q
son you've never heard of,"
said department spokes-
man Matt Bruning.
Hull acknowledges that his
daughter's generation —
she's 25 now — has largely
abandoned printed maps.
In the 1990s, Ohio printed
5.25 million maps on aver-
age during each four-year
gubernatorial term. By last
year, that figure had fallen
to 2.25 million.
But, with a Dad who's the
state mapmaker, aban-
doning paper wasn't an
option for Ashley.
"When she first got her car,
she wanted a GPS. So I
said, well, you learn to read
In this June 6, 2019, photo, Ashley Hull, daughter of Ohio Depart- this first," he said, brandish-
ment of Transportation mapmaker Bruce Hull, is interviewed at ing one of his paper road In this June 6, 2019, photo, Bruce Hull is interviewed at his offices
her family home in Pickerington, Ohio. maps. "I showed her these at the Ohio Department of Transportation in Columbus.
Associated Press are the interchanges, these Associated Press