Liquid Treat

In this, the era of blind follow-the-GPS-style navigation, what is the future of maps? The colorful, creative, and downright disorienting answer can be found in The Map as Art (Princeton Architectural Press) by Katharine Harmon. The cartographic coffee table book heads into the uncharted territory of "imaginative maps," 360 representations of places created by artists and designers such as Ed Ruscha, Maya Lin, and Vik Muniz out of everything from paint and plywood to skin and souvenir tea towels. Whether you're interested in how we envision political landscapes, represent neighborhoods, or visually manipulate directional information, you can get there from here.

"If used safely, responsibly, and with utmost care—for yourself, your fellow man, and the environment—an axe will be your best friend," particularly if the axe happens to be a beautiful object designed by Peter Buchanan-Smith. The Grammy award-winning graphic designer and author teamed with his old camp buddy, Graeme Cameron, an outdoorsman and environmental entrepreneur, to found Best Made, a New York-based company that is doing a brisk business in made-to-order axes. Even those averse to chopping will be seduced by the sturdy tools, which feature Tennessee hickory handles hand-painted in your choice of vibrant patterns—we like the white, red, and black combo that Buchanan-Smith has rather ominously dubbed "Hush Now."

The launch of Google AdWords isn't likely to make it into history textbooks, but it easily nabs a spot in "The Webby Top 10," a list of the most influential Internet moments of the past decade. Compiled by The Webby Awards, the online honors handed out annually by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, the list is a scroll down memory lane, from the expansion of Craigslist and the launch of Wikipedia to the online video revolution and last year's Iranian election protests. So what can we learn from these innovations, which continue to reshape pop culture, media, business, and politics? According to Webby Awards executive director David-Michel Davies, "The recurring theme among all of the milestones on our list is the Internet's capacity to circumvent old systems and put more power into the hands of ordinary people."

Make a new year's resolution to add more color to your life with 500 colored pencils, delivered to your door in groups of 25 over the course of 20 months and tucked inside a lovely graphic box. The pencil pushers? Social Designer, which makes the pencils to order in creatively named hues that range from the evocative (Hawaiian Sky, French Mustard) to the mysterious (Cousin Clara, Secret Past). Billed as "the only set in the world that matches the span and wonder of human creativity," the pencils can double as artwork when tucked inside wall-mounted acrylic cases.

Even if you're not a regular reader of The New Yorker, you'll recognize the magazine's mascot, Eustace Tilley. The iconic dandy first appeared on the cover in 1925 and reappears at least once a year. For the third consecutive year, The New Yorker has put out the call for readers to reimagine Eustace. So put on your thinking top hat, create your own version of the discerning chap, and submit it by January 18, 2010. The winners will appear in an online slideshow curated by the magazine's art editor Francoise Mouly. Wouldn't that be dandy?

Scout and support emerging artists without leaving your desk. Affordable art is just a click away at CollegeArtOnline.com, which aims to bring art to the masses. The site offers a wealth of original student artwork at prices that range from $50 to $3,000 (the average sale is $200) and allows would-be collectors to pay the listed price or make the artist an offer. As for sifting through the available works, you can browse categories including paintings, photography, and sculpture, but we recommend checking out the site's "curated exhibitions," an ongoing series that features works selected by guest curators around themes such as simplicity and fate.