The popular kids' show "Fetch!" needed simplified maps created for use as props. Since the maps had to be readable on television, and featured unique points of interest, they had to be custom designed. Matt Harter is the resident mapmaker at WGBH, so he was called on to create them.
Even though each of the maps had fictional elements, they were all based on real geographical features like coastlines, topography, rivers, and roads. This presented a problem: commercial maps were not a viable option beacuase they do not have the detal required for the small-scale rural areas depicted, and commercial maps would be too expensive for the limited budget available anyway. Matt's solution was to use professional mapmaking software to manipulate freely available geospatial data, then export it into a graphics application for final editing. The final product would be well suited to the theme of the show.
The first map illustrates a network of hiking trails along the continental divide in Colorado. The second map features an area of the Florida keys, with points of interest on land and on/under water.