MAP CRITIQUE Group 2 A map says to you, "Read me carefully, follow me closely, doubt me not." It says, "I am the earth in the palm of your hand. Without me, you are alone and lost." (Harley, 1989:1)

Outline ■Background on Goals of Map design ■The mapping process ■What is critique? ■How do we Critique? ■Why do we Critique? ■Critique List (examples of Good and Bad Maps) according to Tyner ■Conclusions

Background on Map Design ■Part of Map design: Planning the map and layout of design elements (Tyner, 2010) ■Goals of design : Any design has certain goals (clarity, order, balance, contrast, unity and harmony) ■According to Tyner (2010), a cartographer must ask questions like : - What is the purpose of the map? - Will it serve as a solution? - What is the subject or theme? - What is the intent of the Map? - Who is the Audience?

The Mapping Process (Tyner, 2010) (Tyner, 2010: 12)

What is Critique? … Refer to Crampton (2010) ■There is No perfect Map, it all depends on Skills, data, and equipment to produce the best possible maps” (Tyner, 2010:214) ■A critique is not a project of finding fault, but an examination of the assumptions of a field of knowledge (Crampton, 2010). ■Does not mean saying things aren’t good the way they are, ■Principles: Focuses on what type of assumptions, are they of familiar notions, of established, unexamined ways of thinking the accepted practices are based (Crampton, 2010) ■For Kant, it is an investigation which “involves laying out and describing precisely the claims being made, and then evaluating such claims in terms of their original meanings

How do we critique? Based on certain Critical mapping Principles: ■Maps are incredibly useful ways of organizing and producing knowledge about the world. ■Holds that geographic knowledge is shaped by a whole array of social, economic, and historical forces ■Based on Map design Goals, one can critique a map ■Guided by map elements ■Critique list

Why Critique? ■We do not just critique (Maps for example) ■To what Basis or Principles do we critique under? ■Any Rules? ■The purpose is to understand and suggest alternatives to the categories of knowledge that we use (Crampton, 2010).

Critique List ■The overall look of the map ■Subjective, or emotional, reactions to the map (authoritativeness, pleasingness,…) ■Content of the map ■Potential uses ■Appropriateness of a map for the purpose ■Projection ■Accuracy, precision ■General mapping method ■Legend clarity ■Color - aesthetics, suitability for representing content ■Layout ■Title clarity & adequacy ■Type style, size, placement ■Details

“Good” Maps vs “Bad” Maps

Examples… (Tyner, 2010)

Examples…

Examples…cont.

Examples…

Conclusions (Tyner, 2010) ■No good or Bad map ■Representation (maps) vary with : –Audience –Format –Purpose –Symbols Chosen –Data Manipulation and Categorization –Software used –Maker’s Aesthetic Sense ■However, a well- designed map is visually pleasing, is rich in data, and, at the same time, can help the mapmaker communicate the info to the map reader. ■In contrast, a poorly designed map can confuse the map reader and even distort the information displayed.

References 1.Crampton, J.W., Mapping. A Critical Introduction to Cartography and GIS. Malden: Wiley-Blackwell. 2.Harley, J.B., Deconstructing the map. Cartographica: The international journal for geographic information and geovisualization, 26(2), pp Tyner, J.A., Principles of map design. Guilford Press. 4.Chang, K. T. (2006). Introduction to geographic information systems, pp Boston: McGraw-Hill Higher Education.