The Map Design Process and the Elements of Map Composition SP 240 Cartography Alex Chaucer

Spatial Information Technology Center Chapter Overview Design Process Elements of Map Composition Planar Organization Contrast and Design Total Map Organization Visual Hierarchy Figure-Ground Relationship

Spatial Information Technology Center The Design Process | Problem Identification | Preliminary Ideas | Design Refinement | Analyze | Decision | Implementation changes feedback projection

Spatial Information Technology Center Design Evaluation An outside evaluator never knows what compromises the cartographer had to make to balance decisions in the design process A map’s design should be judged only with regard to the map’s purpose and intended audience

Spatial Information Technology Center Design Evaluation: Design Characteristics of Successful Maps 1.should be suited to the needs of it’s users 2.should be easy to use 3.accurate, presenting information without error, distortions, or misrepresentations 4.language of the map should relate to the elements or qualities represented 5.should be clear, legible, and attractive 6.creation of many maps would ideally permit interaction with the user, allowing change, updating, or personalization Southworth and Southworth, 1982

Spatial Information Technology Center Creativity and Visualization Creativity (def.) the unusual ability to see relationships among elements “Although there is no recipe for creativity, certain activities appear to be shared by people considered to be great thinkers, scientists, or artists.” Burdick, 1982

Spatial Information Technology Center “Creative” Activities 1.Challenging Assumptions – daring to question what most people take as truth 2.Recognizing patterns – perceiving significant similarities or differences in ideas, events, or physical phenomena 3.Seeing in new ways – looking at the commonplace with new perceptions, transforming the familiar into the strange, and the strange into the familiar 4.Making connections – bringing together seemingly unrelated ideas, objects, or events in ways that lead to new concepts

Spatial Information Technology Center “Creative” Activities cont. 5. Taking risks – daring to try new ways, with no control over the outcome 6. Using chance – taking advantage of the unexpected 7. Constructing networks – forming associations for the exchange of ideas, perceptions, questions, and encouragement How can these activities aide in cartographic design?

Spatial Information Technology Center Creativity to Map Design ___________________________________

Spatial Information Technology Center Visualization Visualization Process – a mental process in which the designer experiences whole new creations by rearranging previously stored visual images Imagining – creating visual images in the mind’s eye; applied to cartographic design: seeing the map before physically creating it

Spatial Information Technology Center How New Ideas are Formed… 1.Preparation – visual images stored away 2.Incubation - person focuses on other things 3.Illumination – the solution to the problem appears suddenly 4.Verification or revision – the person consciously works out the details of the solution, formal structures result

Spatial Information Technology Center Developing an Image Pool Experience as much graphic art, art, and cartography as possible Go to art museums, animated film exhibits, go through old atlases There is also scientific visualization – utilizing computers to test ideas for maps to digitally “sketch” ideas; experimentation

Spatial Information Technology Center Some sites to browse to see maps

Spatial Information Technology Center Experimentation Sometimes you must work things out on paper Explore alternatives Time and cost are enemies to experimentation

Spatial Information Technology Center Map Aesthetics The art of cartography Harmony, composition, clarity “ an ugly map, with crude colors, careless line work, and disagreeable, poorly arranged lettering may be as intrinsically as accurate as a beautiful map, but it is less likely to inspire confidence.” -John K. Wright, Map Critic

Spatial Information Technology Center Map Design – New Challenges Today design focuses on the map There have been great advances in psychology To the future you may see a greater emphasis on integrating the user of the map, and the complexity of cognitive abilities

Spatial Information Technology Center Maps Used for “Communication” “Function provides the basis for map design” -Robinson The challenge: a map that is both functional and aesthetically pleasing

Spatial Information Technology Center The Map’s Design Elements Titles Legends Scales Credits Mapped Areas Borders Symbols Place Names Design Principles Simplicity Appropriateness Pleasing Appearance Considerations of Economy Goal is to bring all of these into balance

Spatial Information Technology Center Design Levels on the Map Think of each design element existing on separate planes/levels Map Composition: the arrangement of the map’s elements Planar organization: arrangement at a given level Hierarchical organization: relations between levels

Spatial Information Technology Center Elements of Map Composition Balance The optical center Visual weight and direction Golden section Inequal divisions: “visually alive” Focus of Attention Natural visual equilibrium Intraparallelism Internal Organization

Spatial Information Technology Center Contrast and Design Line Contrast Line weight (flow maps) Texture Contrast Patterns Value Contrast Light to Dark areas Detail Contrast Use detail to draw the eye Color Contrast

Spatial Information Technology Center Total Map Organization, The Visual Hierarchy, and the Figure-Ground Relationship Figure and Ground Organization Figure – important objects Ground – things less important Designate the figure and ground first in the creative design process Visual Hierarchy Important objects are more dominant

Spatial Information Technology Center Perceptual Grouping Principles Items on a map seem to group together as a whole, based on similar: Shape Size Proximity

Spatial Information Technology Center Look for design elements

Spatial Information Technology Center