HKlyrics_YC.pdf

• Road Source: https://opendata.esrichina.hk/datasets/188a2dfc78bd44d19fa99edfe87b20e7 (Select by Attributes in “CENTERLINE”
• Location: Google Map

This map visualizes the emotional geography of Hong Kong through Cantonese pop lyrics referencing iconic locations. By mapping lyrical excerpts onto real-world sites, the project explores how popular music reflects collective memory and spatial attachment—a form of “topophilia.” Lyrics were manually selected from a corpus of well-known songs, geocoded, and layered onto a custom basemap using Adobe Illustrator and ArcGIS Pro. Design choices, including dual-language typography, lyric-style symbology, and dark-mode aesthetics, aim to evoke the nostalgic tone of the music itself. The map serves as both cultural archive and lyrical landscape, inviting reflection on place-based identity and belonging.

Tips in Illustrator

Line Editing

• Aggregate road feature
  • road is separated into different polylines, some road segments are overlapped with each other, the simplest way to join the road is done in Illustrator, not in ArcGIS Pro
  • Shift select all the road segments (I make each road a single layer then directly select the layer), ctrl+J
• Simplify and Smooth

smooth: right - simplify, auto button on the right

simplify: left - simplify, auto button on the right

• Change the caps

  

  Click the stroke icon (click show option if it only shows Weight) - Round Cap

• Glow effect

  • Effect - Stylize - Inner Glow/ Outer Glow

• Add street name on a curved road path

  • The fast way I found: copy paste the road - smooth the road - right click text - type on a path tool - click the path
  • sometime the path is inversed: Type - Type on a Path - Type on a Path Option - check Flip, you can also adjust align and spacing here

Short Keys