# Doing an Image Map (web illustration). Could Use Advice. **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doing-an-image-map-web-illustration-could-use-advice/796478 **Category:** In My Humble Opinion **Created:** [September 16, 2017, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doing-an-image-map-web-illustration-could-use-advice/796478 "2017-09-16T16:39:09Z") **Posts on this page:** 1 **Page:** 1
### Author: ![Baal\_Houtham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baal_houtham/32/13604_2.png) [@Baal\_Houtham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baal_Houtham) #### Post date: [September 16, 2017, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doing-an-image-map-web-illustration-could-use-advice/796478/1 "2017-09-16T16:39:09Z")
“Image Map” = an interactive web picture. Clicking on various areas will take you to different web pages. My web chops are 20 years out of date. I remember using GoLive (WYSIWYG HTML), before it was acquired by Adobe and then abandoned; I missed the rise and fall of Flash; I’ve only read about CSS and HTML-5. My web work is mostly limited to making headers and infographics that other people place on Facebook or on WordPress websites. I took on a project from a friend-of-a-friend to do four large (1600px x 900px) image maps. Here’s a rough description (with actual details changed): \> A simple, non-detailed drawing of Italy, on which there are 30 photos of animals native to various parts of the country. \> The animal photos are “cut out” images – you just see the animal. You don’t see a rectangle of forest, trees or grass around the animal. This makes for much easier identification of the animal (since its shape is emphasized) and saves space. \>There’s a short caption beside each animal telling its name and the region. \> Clicking on the animal or the caption takes you to a detailed web page about that animal. There would be similar wildlife maps for, say, Alaska, New Zealand, and Panama. The art is being done in a Photoshop-type program (Affinity Photo) with everything on separate layers. I’m planning to do the actual image mapping in GIMP (a freeware Photoshop-type program). Supposedly GIMP has good image mapping features that would let me outline the animals in rectangles or polygons, and assign web links to those shapes – and specify “mouse-over” labels. My understanding is that using CSS would entail having visible rectangles around any interactive areas. I don’t want each outlined animal surrounded by a rectangle. MY QUESTIONS: 1. Is there a better way to do this? 2. What’s a good way to make these maps usable on phone browsers? (A much smaller version of the illustration with proportionally larger captions?) 3 (and beyond). Other comments? Can the type captions remain type rather than bitmaps? Etc?