Since Kansas City exists without any coastline to contain it, the metro area has oozed far from the confluence of the Missouri and Kansas Rivers. So, we went beyond the city limits and chose to include a wider-than-normal composition. Complicating things, Kansas City Kansas (KCK) sits intimately beside KCMO. It's technically (and culturally) a different city in a different state, but sharing a name and metro area necessitated it staying on the map. An even more complicated angle is the city's racial dividing line, Troost, breaking the city into further pieces. It's really hard to say where the place starts and ends.
These disparate parts of the metro area makes composing this place particularly difficult. We chose to expand, rather than contract, to keep it inclusive of the entire story.
A collaboration with David Hennessy and many people from KC itself.
ABOUT THE IDEA
Information is more fun to read when it's beautiful. I've designed these charts and maps with hours of research, reassembling data into a brain-friendly aesthetic. I edit the information significantly, avoiding the "dazzle" effect which occurs when our eyes are battered with too much information. Letterpress makes it even more gorgeous.
ABOUT LETTERPRESS PRINTING
Letterpress is a very complicated and expensive printing method that I am obsessed with. All letterpress prints are slammed with 600 pounds of pressure, creating a deep, tactile texture. The ink gets embedded into the thick soft paper so it won't fade within your lifetime. Read more about letterpress printing here.
Your local frame shop is going to do a better job than anyone else. There's a reason this craft endures and cannot be automated: It's skilled work that is best done face-to-face in physical space.
See more framing ideas here.
Copyright 2020 Archie's Press