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| GIS Cartography |
The reader of this book is assumed to have a basic understanding of geography and GIS principles. For example, in Chapter 3, “Layout Design,” there is a section on projections.
It is assumed that you know what projections are and why they are
an important component of any GIS work. The section, therefore, deals with only
whether a map designer ought to include projection information on a printed map
document and, if so, how it ought to be formatted design‑wise.
Another example is in the soils section of Chapter 6, “Features,” that delves into techniques on display‑ ing soils information in the most appropriate way.
The focus in that section is almost entirely on the ways in which soil data can be displayed. Indeed, soils data are very complex and it would be beyond the scope of this design book to describe soils data in detail. In general, the book cannot discuss every aspect of every type of data that exists and every layout possibility. Therefore, it is confined to those aspects of those subjects that pertain to map design.
This book is primarily aimed at early career professionals — they have an under‑ standing of GIS processes and procedures but generally lack a firm foundation in map design. Students of GIS, who might lack both GIS knowledge and cartography skills, will find it particularly helpful to use this book in conjunction with other texts. Alternatively, students can reserve this text for studying after a course or two in GIS has been completed.
Mid‑ to late‑career professionals will obviously have plenty of GIS analytical and procedural concepts under their belts as well as some level of sophistication in map design, but there is a lot of material in this text that can be of use for this group, especially when it comes to displaying unfamiliar data or gaining inspiration for new map design techniques.
How to Use This Book In Chapter 2, “Creative Inspiration,” you will be challenged to hone your creative skills as a complementary exercise to learning all the ins and outs of map design described in ensuing chapters. Reading Chapter 2 first will enable you to keep in mind that map making is not just about knowing the proper placement of the north arrow or how to combine colors, it is about formulating a cohesive design for your unique
circumstances through creative problem-solving. You can keep that in mind while you are reading through the rest of the book as they contain primarily stand alone content.
The other chapters can be read in whatever sequence makes sense to you. They all go hand‑in‑hand. Chapter 3, “Layout Design,” does not go into detail about the design of the map element itself but rather focuses on the overall page design and, especially, what needs to be on it and what doesn’t need to be on it. In that chapter, the map is really just one of many elements that needs to be considered, albeit one that is of primary importance, of course.
The term “element” is used to mean any category of object that can go onto a map page, such as the title, map, scale bar, and so on. That chapter is followed by Chapter 4, “Fonts,” and Chapter 5, “Color,” both of 6 GIS Cartography: A Guide to Effective Map Design which explore the fundamentals of those two subjects and are important knowledge areas for both layout design and map design. Chapter 6, “Features,” deals with map design in particular relation to common map features such as roads, streams, geology, land use, land cover, and so on.
While not every feature type that could possibly be put on a map is represented in that chapter, the feature types were purposefully chosen to contain enough variety so that most mapping techniques are presented. Finally, Chapter 7, “Media,” discusses some of the intricacies in and tactics used for several common output formats: slides, reports, posters, and Web.
In many parts of this book I urge you to try to come up with novel and creative solutions to your design needs, but there is considerably more space devoted to cartographic standards and conventions. The reason is that, without a foundation in standards and conventions, you cannot be completely comfortable with your creative solutions. While ignorance does sometimes lead to novel solutions, you, as the cartographic designer, need to know the fundamentals in order to assess
whether a creative solution is satisfactory.
Remember that the goal for most standards in map design is to lead to a cohesive set of rules for the symbology of elements so that a viewer can easily and quickly gain insight from a map. Indeed, as Colin Ware states in his book Visual Thinking for Design, “ the goal of information design must be to design displays so that visual queries are processed both rapidly and correctly for every important cognitive task the display is intended to support.
Another example is in the soils section of Chapter 6, “Features,” that delves into techniques on display‑ ing soils information in the most appropriate way.
The focus in that section is almost entirely on the ways in which soil data can be displayed. Indeed, soils data are very complex and it would be beyond the scope of this design book to describe soils data in detail. In general, the book cannot discuss every aspect of every type of data that exists and every layout possibility. Therefore, it is confined to those aspects of those subjects that pertain to map design.
This book is primarily aimed at early career professionals — they have an under‑ standing of GIS processes and procedures but generally lack a firm foundation in map design. Students of GIS, who might lack both GIS knowledge and cartography skills, will find it particularly helpful to use this book in conjunction with other texts. Alternatively, students can reserve this text for studying after a course or two in GIS has been completed.
Mid‑ to late‑career professionals will obviously have plenty of GIS analytical and procedural concepts under their belts as well as some level of sophistication in map design, but there is a lot of material in this text that can be of use for this group, especially when it comes to displaying unfamiliar data or gaining inspiration for new map design techniques.
How to Use This Book In Chapter 2, “Creative Inspiration,” you will be challenged to hone your creative skills as a complementary exercise to learning all the ins and outs of map design described in ensuing chapters. Reading Chapter 2 first will enable you to keep in mind that map making is not just about knowing the proper placement of the north arrow or how to combine colors, it is about formulating a cohesive design for your unique
circumstances through creative problem-solving. You can keep that in mind while you are reading through the rest of the book as they contain primarily stand alone content.
The other chapters can be read in whatever sequence makes sense to you. They all go hand‑in‑hand. Chapter 3, “Layout Design,” does not go into detail about the design of the map element itself but rather focuses on the overall page design and, especially, what needs to be on it and what doesn’t need to be on it. In that chapter, the map is really just one of many elements that needs to be considered, albeit one that is of primary importance, of course.
The term “element” is used to mean any category of object that can go onto a map page, such as the title, map, scale bar, and so on. That chapter is followed by Chapter 4, “Fonts,” and Chapter 5, “Color,” both of 6 GIS Cartography: A Guide to Effective Map Design which explore the fundamentals of those two subjects and are important knowledge areas for both layout design and map design. Chapter 6, “Features,” deals with map design in particular relation to common map features such as roads, streams, geology, land use, land cover, and so on.
While not every feature type that could possibly be put on a map is represented in that chapter, the feature types were purposefully chosen to contain enough variety so that most mapping techniques are presented. Finally, Chapter 7, “Media,” discusses some of the intricacies in and tactics used for several common output formats: slides, reports, posters, and Web.
In many parts of this book I urge you to try to come up with novel and creative solutions to your design needs, but there is considerably more space devoted to cartographic standards and conventions. The reason is that, without a foundation in standards and conventions, you cannot be completely comfortable with your creative solutions. While ignorance does sometimes lead to novel solutions, you, as the cartographic designer, need to know the fundamentals in order to assess
whether a creative solution is satisfactory.
Remember that the goal for most standards in map design is to lead to a cohesive set of rules for the symbology of elements so that a viewer can easily and quickly gain insight from a map. Indeed, as Colin Ware states in his book Visual Thinking for Design, “ the goal of information design must be to design displays so that visual queries are processed both rapidly and correctly for every important cognitive task the display is intended to support.
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