Cartographic Design

maps are the preeminent means of recording

and communicating information about
location and spatial characteristics
maps are the primary source of data input
into a GIS and are the primary product of GIS
analysis

Maps are valuable in three ways:

they are efficient ways of recording and
storing spatial information
they provide a means to analyze locational
distributions of spatial patterns
they can present findings and communicate
information effectively

To realize this potential, however, maps have to be effectively

designed and presented.
As in all forms of communication, in order to present your ideas
effectively on maps requires training.
unfortunately, desktop mapping programs abound and almost
anyone can produce a map
One of the most useful approaches to the study of cartography
is to view maps as a form of visual communication--a specialpurpose language for describing spatial relationships.

The Design Process

If cartography is a form of communication,

the measure of a good map is how well it
conveys information to its readers to
enlighten, convince, or persuade.

1. Think before you draw

What is the motive, intent, or goal of the

map?
a. what do you want the map reader to learn?
b. why are you drawing the map at all?

Who is your intended audience?

how much will they know about your subject matter?

how much cartographic experience do your map readers
have?

Where will the map be used?

reports, newspapers, atlases, web
Web Map: 200 Kb GIF file

Report Map: 4 Mb TIF file

Spatial Information Systems

Spatial Information Systems

What data are available for the composition of the

map?

quantity & quality issues: too much or too little

What resources are available?

equipment: printing software, printing options

time: how much time to invest in a project; production time
drops dramatically with practice

2. The Map Composition Process

Establish the format of the final product.

colour or black & white?

letter-size or poster?
stand-alone or book?

Place basic map elements.

map
title, scale, legend, north arrow

Place optional map elements, depending on

context.

data source(s) & processing, projection,

cartographer, date of production, neatline, locator
maps, inset maps, index maps

Experiment with map layouts.

maps are "read" from left to right; top to bottom

place most important details near top-left; least important details
near bottom-right

there should be a defensible reason for the placement of each

map element

less is more

too much detail or too complex a layout can confuse readers and
work against effective communication

3. The Cartographer's Palette

features of the real world are abstracted and

symbolized on maps as points, lines, and areas
cartographers use symbols to represent location,
direction, distance, movement, function, process,
and correlation
a tremendous amount of practice and skill is involved
in choosing effective strategies for symbolization

Strategies for Symbolization - Spatial

Symbols

Text & Type Symbols

Content

concise, carefully formulated captions and

annotations make a tremendous difference to a
map
avoid content redundancies between titles,
legends and annotations
avoid using abbreviations unless you are certain
your audience will be familiar with their meaning

Form

sans serif fonts can be scanned more rapidly by

most readers
readers of text in serif fonts seem to retain more
of the information
use of bold, light, italics, BIG, small, UPPER
CASE, lower case, Mixed Case, and colour can
be used to indicate different degrees of
importance

too many fonts (and sizes) can potentially confuse

the reader

typographers try to use no more than four fonts or font

sizes on a given page

on professionally produced maps:

font, size, and case are used very carefully to encode

text
the text is used to group information into useful
categories that reflect the theme of the map

Position

Choropleth Symbols

the whole point of displaying the data

cartographically is to generalize the data to facilitate
the search for spatial patterns
by generalizing and simplifying the data, however,
the cartographer may just as easily obscure subtle
gradations in the underlying distribution
thus, the cartographer must always try to strike a
balance between remaining true to the underlying
data distribution and generalizing the data
sufficiently to reveal intrinsic spatial patterns

after the data have been divided into

categories, you must use the visual
resources at your disposal to symbolize
them on the map

4. Design Ideals vs. Software Realities

Sure, you can design a great-looking map on paper, but can

you get a computer to do it?
systems vary greatly in their strengths and weaknesses: be
aware of both
when selecting a mapping system, consider availability of
needed functions and ease of use
be aware of the problems of designing for particular output
devices
experimentation and multiple iterations are often required
never trust defaults: