{"id":2966718,"date":"2026-05-26T06:53:50","date_gmt":"2026-05-26T13:53:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/?post_type=blog&p=2966718"},"modified":"2026-05-26T06:53:50","modified_gmt":"2026-05-26T13:53:50","slug":"developers-lounge-over-50-ways-to-style-a-map-with-one-service","status":"publish","type":"blog","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/products\/developers\/mapping\/developers-lounge-over-50-ways-to-style-a-map-with-one-service","title":{"rendered":"Developer\u2019s Lounge: Over 50 Ways to Style a Map with One Service"},"author":341472,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_searchwp_excluded":""},"categories":[22941],"tags":[781007,781112,775832],"industry":[],"product":[36601],"class_list":["post-2966718","blog","type-blog","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-mapping","tag-arcgis-basemap-services","tag-arcgis-basemap-style-service","tag-arcgis-location-services","product-developers"],"acf":{"authors":[{"ID":341472,"user_firstname":"Elizabeth","user_lastname":"Ole","nickname":"Elizabeth Ole","user_nicename":"eole","display_name":"Elizabeth Ole","user_email":"eole@esri.com","user_url":"","user_registered":"2023-06-29 16:42:45","user_description":"Elizabeth is a passionate storyteller and marketer who enjoys utilizing her expertise in creativity, marketing, and technology to craft compelling brand and product stories.","user_avatar":""}],"short_description":"Step into the Developer's Lounge to discover what Developer Relations Lead, Ra\u00fal Jim\u00e9nez Ortega, has to say about styling your maps.","flexible_content":[{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":{"ID":2967725,"id":2967725,"title":"8300100-dev-lounge_dl-spotlight-raul","filename":"8300100-dev-lounge_dl-spotlight-raul-scaled.png","filesize":2412011,"url":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/05\/8300100-dev-lounge_dl-spotlight-raul-scaled.png","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/products\/developers\/mapping\/developers-lounge-over-50-ways-to-style-a-map-with-one-service\/8300100-dev-lounge_dl-spotlight-raul","alt":"","author":"341472","description":"Ra\u00fal Jim\u00e9nez Ortega","caption":"","name":"8300100-dev-lounge_dl-spotlight-raul","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":2966718,"date":"2026-05-26 13:22:26","modified":"2026-05-26 13:23:13","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/png","type":"image","subtype":"png","icon":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":2560,"height":1440,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/05\/8300100-dev-lounge_dl-spotlight-raul-213x200.png","thumbnail-width":213,"thumbnail-height":200,"medium":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/05\/8300100-dev-lounge_dl-spotlight-raul-scaled.png","medium-width":464,"medium-height":261,"medium_large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/05\/8300100-dev-lounge_dl-spotlight-raul-scaled.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":432,"large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/05\/8300100-dev-lounge_dl-spotlight-raul-scaled.png","large-width":1920,"large-height":1080,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/05\/8300100-dev-lounge_dl-spotlight-raul-1536x864.png","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":864,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/05\/8300100-dev-lounge_dl-spotlight-raul-2048x1152.png","2048x2048-width":2048,"2048x2048-height":1152,"card_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/05\/8300100-dev-lounge_dl-spotlight-raul-826x465.png","card_image-width":826,"card_image-height":465,"wide_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/05\/8300100-dev-lounge_dl-spotlight-raul-1920x1080.png","wide_image-width":1920,"wide_image-height":1080}},"image_position":"center","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"

In case you missed it, we just launched our brand-new developer series, Developer’s Lounge<\/strong><\/a>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Developer’s Lounge<\/strong> is a dedicated space where curious developers can dive deeper into Esri’s powerful suite of developer tools and technologies, building the knowledge, skills, and confidence they need to create compelling applications and solutions.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

For our first-ever interview, we sat down with Developer Relations Lead, Ra\u00fal Jim\u00e9nez Ortega, <\/strong>to discuss his journey into the world of development, his dynamic role at Esri, and the exciting ways developers can\u00a0leverage\u00a0one powerful service to style stunning maps.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Whether\u00a0you’re\u00a0just beginning your development journey or looking to elevate your applications, we hope this conversation inspires you to bring richly styled maps to life.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"blockquote","content":"

\"Having access to a wide variety of map styles designed by professional cartographers for different use cases allows developers to focus on building their application logic rather than spending significant time designing maps.\" - Ra\u00fal Jim\u00e9nez Ortega<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"

<\/h4>\n

1. Hello,<\/span> Ra\u00fal!<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>What’s<\/span><\/strong> the story behind your first line of code, and how did it lead you to where you are today?<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/h4>\n

I started writing code early, the first time\u00a0<\/span>was\u00a0\u00a0in<\/span>\u00a01995 (when I was\u00a011\u00a0years old),\u00a0on my i486\u00a0using QBasic with the\u00a0<\/span>goal of<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>creating a<\/span>\u00a0“choose your own adventure\u201d game.\u00a0That led me to web development in 1998\u00a0while I was still in high school, and I joined\u00a0multiple online communities, where I met\u00a0other computer enthusiasts. Over time, that led me to\u00a0study computer science,\u00a0co-found and lead multiple\u00a0developer communities while I evolved as a\u00a0full-stack developer. I\u00a0<\/span>led<\/span>\u00a0my own startup\u00a0(<\/span>GeoRemindMe<\/span>!), worked as a project and product manager in other startups, and finally joined Esri, where I have the opportunity to specialize in my current role as the developer relations lead (more information can be found on my website:<\/span><\/span>\u00a0My personal Journey<\/span><\/span><\/a>\u00a0&\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Open Culture).<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

<\/h4>\n

 <\/p>\n

2. As Developer Relations Lead at Esri, how would you describe your role and what does a typical day look like for you?\u00a0<\/strong><\/h4>\n

That’s\u00a0a great question!\u00a0T<\/span>o be honest, no two days are the same. One day I’m working with engineers from our Native Maps SDK team to organize a livestream, on another I\u2019m meeting with product managers to provide some feedback, and the next I\u2019m attending a third-party conference somewhere in the world, or explaining to developers the effort that goes into producing up-to-date basemaps that cover the whole world at 20+ zoom levels.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

3. <\/strong>For developers who may be unfamiliar with Esri basemaps, how would you introduce them?\u00a0<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Esri basemaps are the background layer of a digital map\u2014the part you can pan and zoom that provides geographic context (roads, terrain, imagery) across the\u00a0whole world\u00a0at multiple zoom levels.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

If\u00a0you\u2019re\u00a0familiar with\u00a0Google Maps, basemaps are equivalent to switching between \u2018Road\u2019,\u00a0\u2018Satellite\u2019,\u00a0or \u2018Terrain\u2019 views.\u00a0In short,\u00a0it is\u00a0<\/span>the underlying map style\u00a0(or map type) on which\u00a0your\u00a0<\/span><\/b>application\u2019s\u00a0data (markers, routes, etc.)\u00a0is\u00a0displayed.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

4. What components does every basemap have?\u00a0<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Every basemap is primarily composed of two core components, and often includes a third:<\/p>\n

A)<\/strong> Data (tiles)<\/span><\/b>: the geographic data used to draw map elements (buildings, roads, etc.). Instead of loading the entire world at once, this data is split into small chunks called\u00a0<\/span>tiles.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

A developer can think of tiles like:<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n