May 14 marks the 60th anniversary of Israel's creation, so the Sun-Sentinel shared the stories of local survivors of the Israeli War of Independence in Sunday's Outlook section.

My contribution was a large historical map and timeline showing how much land Israel gained from 1946 (when the first plan to create an Israeli and Arab state emerged) to June 1949 (end of the war).

Yet, while the end result may look simple, rest assured this was a beast to put together. I had a book of historical maps as my source material, with a goal to fit 12 maps into one. But what is the best way to compact nearly 3 years of history and still make it look good?

I went through about three or four sketches before coming up with my final one, but even then I spent a week tweaking, editing and redesigning the page to make the story flow correctly.

My biggest concern was repeating too much information. For example, is it important to include a mini map of Israel's current boundaries? Or do I add them in the big map to show context but keep it subtle (I eventually chose this option).

The moral of my story is that even with your best planning, the end result doesn't always turn out like the final sketch. See for yourself by comparing my sketches with the final page: