STEVEN FICK DEVELOPED AN INTEREST IN MAPPING while doing a graduate degree in geography and has been creating beautiful and fact-packed maps ever since as the chief cartographer with Canadian Geographic magazine.

What keeps him interested after 20 years of map making? The challenge of creating maps that fit into the page layout and help clarify the intricacies of each article. His artistic side is also evident in all his cartographic and illustrative creations. A map of Cape Breton that appeared in the magazine a few years ago was decorated with Celtic designs, and his elaborate diagrams of glacial action in the Nov/Dec 1998 issue of the magazine are true works of art.

He also relishes the challenge of research: finding all the information required to make an accurate map. It is important to him that the maps he produces are not misleading, easy to read, and aesthetically pleasing. "A successful map looks simple but contains layers and layers of information," says Fick.

Check out some of Fick's maps from Canadian Geographic