{ "schema": "aiblocks-page/1", "id": "agency-gis-cartography-designer", "type": "agent", "name": "Map designer", "summary": "Get a map design plan with base map, colour scheme, symbols, labels, legend and layout for print or web, plus a colour blindness check.", "headline": "Map designer", "subhead": "Tell it what the map must show, who reads it and where it will appear. The agent picks the base map and colours, sets symbol and label rules and plans the layout. You get a style plan you can apply in QGIS, ArcGIS or a web map tool.", "job": { "id": "design-work", "name": "Design things people love" }, "level": "intermediate", "thinking": "high", "tested": true, "updated": "2026-11-03", "first_published": "2026-10-26", "inputs": [ { "type": "question", "required": true, "label": "Question", "what": "the problem, decision or piece of work you want help with, and what a good outcome looks like" }, { "type": "map_data", "required": false, "label": "Map data", "what": "map data, such as GeoJSON, a shapefile, a GeoPackage, a raster or a point cloud, with its coordinate system and fields" }, { "type": "brand_brain", "required": false, "label": "Brand brain", "what": "the brand's facts, voice, products, offers (with effective dates), claims register, personas and look" } ], "outputs": [ { "type": "plan", "required": true, "label": "Plan", "what": "a dated plan: what to do, in what order, with a decision rule for each step" }, { "type": "document", "required": true, "label": "Document", "what": "a finished document, such as a Word file, a PDF or a page of notes" } ], "you_give": [ "What the map must show, and the one thing readers should learn from it", "Who reads it and where, such as print, web, a slide or a dashboard", "Your data layers and what each field means, such as population by district", "The map area and scale, or the zoom levels for a web map", "Your GIS tool, such as QGIS, ArcGIS or Mapbox (optional)", "Brand colours or fonts (optional)" ], "you_get": [ "A base map pick, with the reason", "A colour scheme matched to each data type, checked for colour blindness", "Symbol rules for points, lines and areas", "A label plan with size, order, outlines and placement rules", "A layout plan for title, legend, scale bar, north arrow and credits", "Sample style settings, and checks to run in your own tool" ], "use_when": [ "You have map data and need to choose colours, symbols and labels that readers understand.", "A map for a report, poster or website looks crowded or hard to read.", "You need one consistent style across a series of maps.", "You are choosing a base map, such as streets, satellite or a plain grey one, for your data." ], "skip_when": [ "You need the analysis itself, such as hot spots, distances or areas. Use the Spatial data scientist or the GIS analyst.", "You need a 3D scene. Use the 3D map scene developer.", "You need an interactive web map built. Use the Web GIS Developer agent." ], "output_sample": { "input": [ "What the map must show and who reads it", "Where it will appear, such as print or web", "Your data layers and what each field means", "Brand colours or fonts (optional)" ], "prerequisites": [ "An AI that reads pasted text, such as Claude, ChatGPT or Gemini", "A GIS tool such as QGIS or ArcGIS to apply the style" ], "output": [ { "name": "Map purpose", "contains": "The reader, the one thing to learn and the medium." }, { "name": "Base map choice", "contains": "The base map type and why it suits your data." }, { "name": "Data style", "contains": "Colour scheme, grouping method and symbol rules for each layer." }, { "name": "Label plan", "contains": "Label size, order, outlines and placement rules." }, { "name": "Layout plan", "contains": "Where the title, legend, scale bar, north arrow and credits go." }, { "name": "Style settings", "contains": "Sample settings to try in your tool, marked untested." }, { "name": "Open checks", "contains": "Colour blindness, contrast and legend tests still to run." } ] }, "output_shape": "MAP PURPOSE\n Reader | One thing to learn | Medium \n\nBASE MAP\n | \n\nDATA STYLE\n | data type | colours | classes | symbol \n\nLABELS\n | size and order | outline | placement rule\n\nLAYOUT\n Title, legend, scale bar, north arrow and credits \n\nCHECKS\n Colour blindness | Contrast | Legend test \n\nSTYLE SETTINGS\n \n\nOPEN CHECKS\n ", "how_to_use": [ "Add the pack to your AI as a skill. If you cannot, start a new chat and paste SKILL.md, then references/source-agent.md.", "Say what the map must show, who reads it and where it will appear.", "List your layers and fields. Names and a few sample values are enough. Leave out private data.", "Read the purpose line first. If it is not the one thing readers should learn, fix it before you look at the styling.", "Apply the style in your GIS tool. Then show the map to someone who has not seen it and ask what it means.", "Test the colours in a colour blindness simulator, and send back anything that clashes." ], "checks": [ "The result addresses your actual task and cites the evidence used.", "Examples, role-play experience and targets are kept separate from verified results.", "Claims of tests, memory, tool access or completed actions match what actually happened." ], "next": [ { "name": "UI designer agent", "url": "https://useaiblocks.com/skills/agency-design-ui-designer", "why": "Design it" } ], "source": { "by": "Michael Sitarzewski and Agency Agents contributors", "repo": "msitarzewski/agency-agents", "url": "https://github.com/msitarzewski/agency-agents/blob/b37b5bb33b78f2c1d6567d98e25ca818e3259219/gis/gis-cartography-designer.md", "licence": "MIT", "original_name": "Cartography Designer", "commit": "b37b5bb33b78f2c1d6567d98e25ca818e3259219" }, "credits": [ { "title": "Cartography Designer", "by": "Michael Sitarzewski and Agency Agents contributors", "url": "https://github.com/msitarzewski/agency-agents/blob/b37b5bb33b78f2c1d6567d98e25ca818e3259219/gis/gis-cartography-designer.md", "used": "Original agent profile, preserved in references/source-agent.md; AI Blocks adds setup and review instructions." } ], "files": [ "LICENSE", "references/source-agent.md", "SETUP.md", "source.json" ], "links": { "page": "https://useaiblocks.com/agents/agency-gis-cartography-designer", "markdown": "https://useaiblocks.com/agents/agency-gis-cartography-designer.md", "json": "https://useaiblocks.com/agents/agency-gis-cartography-designer.json", "instructions": "https://useaiblocks.com/skills/agency-gis-cartography-designer/SKILL.md", "download": "https://useaiblocks.com/skills/agency-gis-cartography-designer.zip", "api_item": "https://useaiblocks.com/api/v1/items/agency-gis-cartography-designer", "api_document": "https://useaiblocks.com/api/v1/documents/agent/agency-gis-cartography-designer", "mcp": "https://useaiblocks.com/mcp" } }