Abstract
This chapter summarizes the state of the art in cartography, offers design guidelines as advice on how to maximize the effectiveness of the map as a communications medium, and illustrates how certain characteristics may be better displayed one way over another. Cartography is a huge subject; this chapter does not attempt to be a comprehensive course, nor a definitive text in the subject of cartography (of which there are a number of excellent examples cited in the references section). However, once you have read this chapter, you will find yourself better equipped to understand cartography and be more critically aware of how to represent your information effectively. It also invites you to learn more about cartography as a crucial part of Geographic Information Systems (GIS).
Firstly, the principles and practice of cartography are explored to provide a clear rationale for the importance of map design in communicating the results of geographical analysis. The chapter builds upon earlier detail of geometrical properties of the Earth, its measurement, and transformation from a three-dimensional object to a paper or screen map to show how the choice of map projection is crucial. The construction of maps as a reduced and abstract form of reality allows the consideration of some of the constraints on map design and the consequences for how maps are portrayed. Sections on typography and color illustrate the array of possibilities and choices available to the mapmaker and present some thoughts on effective map lettering and map coloring. A further section on map organization and layout gives advice on overall map page composition and considers the important components that make up a map. Finally, the design needs of Internet, web, and mobile mapping are considered.
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Abbreviations
- 2-D:
-
two-dimensional
- 3-D:
-
three-dimensional
- API:
-
application programming interface
- CMYK:
-
cyan, magenta, yellow, key (black)
- DEM:
-
digital elevation model
- DTM:
-
digital terrain model
- Esri:
-
Environmental Systems Research Institute
- GIS:
-
Geographic Information System
- GPS:
-
Global Positioning System
- HSV:
-
hue, saturation, value
- ISO:
-
International Organization for Standardization
- KML:
-
Keyhole Markup Language
- LCD:
-
Liquid Crystal Display
- LIDAR:
-
light detection and ranging, Laser Scanning
- OGC:
-
Open Geospatial Consortium
- PC:
-
Personal Computer
- PDA:
-
personal digital assistant
- PDF:
-
portable document format (Adobe)
- REST:
-
Representational State Transfer
- RGB:
-
red, green, blue
- SE:
-
Symbology Encoding
- SLD:
-
Styled Layer Descriptor
- TOC:
-
table of contents
- WGS84:
-
World Geodetic System 1984
- WMS:
-
Web Map Server
- XML:
-
Extensible Markup Language
- ppi:
-
pixels per inch
References
J.P. Snyder: Flattening the Earth: Two Thousand Years of Map Projections (Univ. Chicago Press, Chicago 1997)
J. Bertin: Semiology of Graphics (Esri Press, Redlands 2011)
O. Schnabel: Map Symbol Brewer, http://www.carto.net/schnabel/mapsymbolbrewer/ (last accessed August 11, 2011)
C. Brewer, M. Harrower: ColorBrewer 2.0, http://colorbrewer2.org/ (last accessed August 11, 2011)
E. Imhof: Positioning names on maps, Am. Cartogr. 2(2), 128–144 (1975)
B. Sheesley: Typebrewer, A Map Design Help Tool for Selecting Typography (2006) available at http://www.typebrewer.com/
G.F. Jenks: The data model concept in statistical mapping, Int. Yearb. Cartogr. 7, 186–190 (1967)
J.O. Muehrcke, A.J. Kimerling, A. Buckley, P.C. Muehrcke: Map Use: Reading, Analysis, 6th edn. (Esri Press, Redlands 2009)
E. Imhof: Cartographic Relief Presentation (De Gruyter, Berlin 2007)
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© 2011 Springer-Verlag
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Hardy, P., Field, K. (2011). Portrayal and Cartography. In: Kresse, W., Danko, D. (eds) Springer Handbook of Geographic Information. Springer Handbooks. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-72680-7_11
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-72680-7_11
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