As a cartographer, datavisualization designer, and product engineer, I get to make maps and write about how I make them. I wrote this little tutorial-lite post about how anyone can get started making maps in Illustrator. It focuses on a mapping plug-in for Adobe Illustrator called Maps for Adobe, featuring the plug-in's newest updates. I share these images along with some useful links to get started. 

For more tutorials like this, check out esriurl.com/sarahbell