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CARTOGRAPHER'S TOOLKIT

(fa~••••••,., PetersonGIS

Colors, Typography, Patterns

Gretchen N. Peterson

/(;(P-t-- C-- G;1- /0f.7 .lCf3 :20/2- PetersonGIS

1420 Sheep CreekCourt Fort Collins, CO 80526-3459

Find us on the webat www.gretchenpeterson.com and www.petersongis.com

NOTICE OF RIGHTSAllrights reserved. Except as permitted under u.s.Copyright Law,no part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechani- cal, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without prior written permission of the publisher.

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NOTICE OF LIABILITYThe information in this book is distributed without warranty. Reason-

able efforts have beenmade to publish reliable data and information, but the author and publisher

can not assume responsibility for the validity of all materials or the consequences of their use.The

author has attempted to trace the copyright holders of all material reproduced in this publication

and apologizes to copyright holders if permission to publish in this form has not been obtained.

If any copyright material has not been acknowledged please write to the publisher so we may rectify in any future reprint.

TRADEMARK NOTICE Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trade-

marks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. The use

of any trade names identified throughout this book is not intended to convey endorsement or other affiliation with this book.

Front cover map image of the Amsterdam Metro byAlargule, CC-BY-SA-3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Book and cover designby Longfeather Book Design

ISBN-13: 978-0-615-46794_8 ISBN-lO: 0-615-46794_6

For Kris

Contents About the Author. ix Acknowledgements xi Introduction .............•.... xiii

COLOR ....................•..... 1

Color ...................•...... 3 Color Reproduction .4 Color Conventions 5 How to Use This Chapter 6 Coordinated Palettes 7 Differentiated Palettes 19 Color Ramps 31

TYPOGRAPHY .43

Typography .45 Important Definitions .46 Map Typography .47 How To Use This Chapter .48 Additional Resources .49 Standard typefaces 51 Free Typefaces 73 For Fee Typefaces 95

COMPOSITION PATTERNS 107

Composition Patterns 109 Signal-Noise Ratio 112 Discontinuous Frame 114 Flourish 116 Organic Arrangement 118 Vignettes 120

Focal Point 122 Line Highlights .......•........ 124 Aerial as Context 126 Relief as Context .....•........ 128 Sketch 130 Illustrated 132 Abstraction 134 Alternative Borders 136 Micromaps 138 Small Multiples 140 Information Graphics 142 Thematic 3D 144 Representative 3D 146 Diagrammatic 148 Choropleth Maps 150 Heat Maps 152 Type as Map 154 Polar Aspect 156 Flow Arcs ..........•......... 158 Pseudo Natural 160 Interactive .............•...... 162 Animation 164 Complexity 166

Afterword 169

Composition Patterns Composition Patterns 109

WHEN BEGINNING THE DESIGN of a new map the cartographer canseek inspiration from existingmaps,taking note of their overall characteristicsas wellas individual piecesor particular techniques, and build on that inspi- ration. For example, a cartographer tasked with mapping the journey of a 19th century explorer for a print publication should look at mapspub- lishedinhistory booksof a similarera to note everything from the overall lookand feel to the inclusionorexclu- sion of north arrows, label fonts and weights,and line styles.Fromthis in- formation, the cartographer canbegin to formulate many aspectsofthemap. This leadsto abetter base fromwhich to ask the audience or client pointed design questions that will further im- provethe design. This chapter provides some of

the inspiration that the cartogra- pher needs when beginning a new map design. It focuseson patterns of map-making that illustrate common cartographic solutions to common cartographic problems. Theseareob- served techniques applied by cartog- raphers in today's publications and applications. They are particularly relevant to the cartographer seeking to create high-level communicative design.Some of the patterns, likethe

flow arcs pattern, have just been re- cently invented, while others,likethe small multiples pattern, havebeen in use much longer. All can be applied toboth print mapping andinteractive mapping applications. In this chapter, the term pattern

refers to a promulgated cartographic technique that is reusable,customiz- able, and proven to be effective.This is the same sense of the word pat- tern as used in the softwaredesign field,where design patterns allowfor more efficient programming, since practitioners are not spending time reinventing solutions thatothershave alreadydesigned. The termpattern is used in this chapter exclusivelyin the sense described above, not to mean a regular or repetitive form in data. The patterns are looselyorderedfrom simple to complex. The first pattern, signal-noise ratio, explores the con- cept of minimizing allextraneousde- tails to create a simpleandclearmap composition. The last pattern, aptly named complexity, discussesthe idea that many of the most successfulmap compositions are also themost com- plex.The other patterns arearranged inbetween these two. Beginning cartographers are ad-

vised to learn these patterns. Begin- ning cartographers shouldalso learn

110 Cartographer'sToolkit

the basic principles of cartography, which are not covered here. The ad- vanced cartographer mayor may not be initially familiar with the pat- terns described here. A cartographer might use two or even three of these patterns together to present a par- ticular set of spatial data in the best way. Therefore, it is recommended that the reader make an effort to read the whole chapter thoroughly so that no potentially applicable pattern will be overlooked. A thorough reading will also help if more information is sought about concepts that appear in more than one pattern: creativity, complexity, and relief, to name a few. The chapter can also be skimmed and used as a reference, once this initial read-through is completed. By be- coming expert at the patterns present- ed here-and in future publications on the subject-the cartographer will be able to decrease design time and effort while increasing quality.

An argument may be made that cartography is inherently a creative

exercise, and as such, can't be cata- loged and placed into discrete pat- terns as this chapter attempts to do. However, it is not the author's inten- tion to suggest that these patterns replace creative thinking. Rather, the patterns should be used to enhance creative thinking by providing in- spiration and springboards to better mapping. These patterns provide test- ed and proven techniques that prevent the time-consuming work of starting from scratch, but do not preclude the development of new techniques. The patterns presented here are

not comprehensive of every solution available to the cartographer. Indeed, a cartographer should definitely not feel restricted to only these patterns if a different and better method presents itself. Instead, they serve as a starting point for what the author believes will become a new field of research and publication in cartog- raphy: map composition patterns. Software design patterns are well documented in the software literature and are also accessible via interactive websites for easy reference. Likewise, these map composition patterns can be the foundation for others to add to, build upon, and enhance in order to promote exceptional cartography among practitioners.

Composition Patterns 111

Do NOT REINVENT THE WHEEL Why spend

time inventing a wheel when it has already

beendone? Instead, you can spend your time designing

a better wheel, drawing inspiration and knowledge

from the initial design. Youneed to know that the wheel

already exists and how itfunctions in order to make it better.

In short, you want to have that "wheel" in your toolbox.

Even if the "wheel" has tobe reworked, it is helpful to have

the initial design to startwith. As software engineer

jim Humelsine states, "With designpatterns I'm able to

design more in less time with higher quality."

112 Cartographer's Toolkit

Signal-Noise Ratio USAGE The signal-noise ratio' is a formula that describes the amount of ink in a map that is used to rep- resent data directly-signal-versus the amount of ink that represents nothing-noise. At first glance, it might seem ridiculous that a cartog- rapher would put ink on a map to represent nothing, but in fact, it does happen. Obviously, the signal por- tion of the equation is maximized on effective maps while the noise

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portion is minimized. Improvement of signal-noise ratios

is seen in iterativeworks. For example, the elements that contribute to noise may be published in a first edition but removed insubsequent iterations once it isclear that theyprovide undue clut- ter. Perhaps the cartographer initially places frames around the legend, title block, byline, and scale bar, but after a time realizes these do not contribute anything to the map's message. Per-

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haps the cartographer initially places boundaries around all the nested sub- basins in a watershed map, but upon further reflection, determines that the sub-basin boundaries can be indicated with a less-obtrusive area-fill instead. This is usually summed up as: if

it doesn't add anything worthwhile to the map, get rid of it. However, this general rule is quite a bit more complicated when we consider how it can apply to maps that use a lot

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of flourish, In classic maps, for ex- ample, seemingly extraneous details abound-but the maps are still emi- nently readable. The signal-noise ra- tiorule, then, should be implemented asfollows: take a critical look at the map features and elements to deter- mine if they are interfering with the mainpoint, and if so, toss them.

STYLE Maps with maximum signal- noise ratio may have a lot of white space in them, especially if the map product is for displaying conclusions or presenting analyses to a limited group of stakeholders. These maps do not require detailed backgrounds and can instead simply display the salient information. Another signifier of this style is that it has clear-but-unobtru- siveboundaries between features, or, wherethey are not needed, no bound- ariesat all.These maps may have only basic, non-textured backgrounds or whitespace backgrounds. Flow arcs-- where the only connections between points are displayed and where these connections form a pseudo back- ground reflexively-have the highest signal-noise ratio possible .

TECHNIQUE For maximizing the signalpart of the equation, the cartog- rapher must ensure that all informa- tion displayed on the map is either of primary relevance to the map reader

Nechako White Sturgeon by Eliana Macdonald, Ecotrust Canada.

or of a nature that provides clear,un- cluttered, and necessary context (see also Complexity). To minimize the noise part of the equation, eliminate anything that interferes with the clar- ity of the composition. This seems simple enough, but in fact, the main problem one has when perfecting a map with a high signal-to-noise ra- tio is identifying which elements are only providing noise, since the noise is often not immediately recogniz- able as such to the cartographer who designed it. This is where peer review can be helpful . The flourishes on maps of a clas-

sic style do not typically interfere with the reading of the map. Likewise, the items on a good piece of mod- ern cartography should not interfere with the reading of the map either. For example, if polygon features can

Composition Patterns l 13

be grouped with nearby features that have the same values, the polygon boundaries may become unnecessary visual clutter. While the cartographer's default position is to show those poly- gon boundaries (because that is the way the underlying data isorganized), it does not take much additional effort to group them into a more appealing configuration.

'A related concept is Tufte's term data-ink

ratio. Tufte, Edward R. The Visual Display of

Quantitative It/formation (znd ed.) .

Cheshire. CT: Graphics Press, 2001.

114 Cartographer'sToolkit

Discontinuous Frame

Lake whatcorn Basin Comparisons by Chris Behee, City of BeUevue.

LakeWhatcom Watershed

Composition Patterns 115

USAGEA discontinuous frame is a simplegraphic technique whereby theframe(border) of the map page is "broken" in one or more areas) allow- ingthe map to jut out. This is useful whenamap's region is a peninsula or circularshape such as, for example, a mapof Italy or a globe. This pattern reminds the cartographer to think outside the box, literally, in order to fitone or more elements into a pre- determinedspaceor to add additional visualinterest.

TECHNIQUE It is easiest to ac- complish this pattern by moving into a graphics program, though certain clumsy workarounds may exist in tra- ditional mapping software through the use of graphic elements, such as rectangles, that match the background color to overlap and obscure parts of the frame. Only one or two frame dis- continuities should be used per map page, otherwise the frame appears too irregular. It is recommended that the cartographer be aware of other graphic design techniques, because this is just one of many ways to create a well- designed page layout. Consult graphic design literature to learn more.

Basin 1

STYLETwoways of interrupting the bordergraphics are fading and abrupt stops.In fading, the frame gradually diminisheswhere the map encroaches on it. In abrupt stops, the frame sim- plyends where the map touches it, or ends just before the map touches it. Theamount of space left between the encroaching element and the frame is leftto the cartographer to determine, usually via trial and error. Elements other than the map can alsobleed into the frame, such as illustrations, titles, and legends. Some 3D maps use this technique

to further emphasize a portion of the map that is particularly high, such as a rendering of Mount St. Helens or a thematic 3D map of the largest cities in the world. In these cases, the visual suggests that a part of the map is so high it could not fit onto the map page.

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116 Cartographer's Toolkit

So Geographers in Afric-Maps With Savage-Pictures fill their Gaps;

And o'er unhabitable Downs Place Elephants for want of Towns.

Jonathan Swift, "On Poetry: A Rapsody"

USAGE Flourishes are ornaments placed on a map to fill extra space or to add decorative flair; they typically have no other usefulness aside from the aesthetic. Any map with content that is quaint, kitsch, or pictorial- such as children's art or historic-look- ing maps--<:an benefit from the use of flourish. It is uncommon to find flourishes on mapscreated bythose in the geosciences, asmap products from that field are created to explain rather than to engage (though these strategies are not necessarilyat cross-purposes). Classic maps from previous centuries tended to include a lot of flourish, especially prior to the 19th century. In modern maps, flourishes are still found in information graphics maps, gaming maps, fictionillustrations, and many other typesofmaps.

STYLE Flourishes of myriad types can, and have been, employed in in- numerable ways.Cartographers trying to mimic historic-looking maps may include flourishes such as faux rag

Flourish

CITY MAP-STAVANGER

SANDVIGJ!,

Stavanger by Kevin-Paul Scarrott, Sravanger Guide Maps Norway.

edges, imagesof dragons or people in vintage costume, banners, or detailed feature renderings such as waves or mountain peaks. Indeed, in classical maps, it seems the cartographers had no end ofcreativeideas for their maps. For example, the scale bars in several

17th century maps are accompanied by sketches of drafting compasses, with one tip on one end of the scale and the other tip on the other end of the scale.' Typefaces that have a lot of flour-

ish, such as old-time Garamond,

Caslon,Baskerville, or Fell, go well on mapsthat also contain other flourish- es.For even more flourish strength, pure calligraphy typefaces such as Cygnet,Mutlu Ornamental, or Adine KirnbergScript are used, especially on map titles. Cartouches are a specialized type

of flourish that were used extensively in classic cartography and can some- timesbe found on modern maps that seek to mimic that look. They are typicallyquite large in comparison to modern flourishes, in that they may take up one-sixth or so of the map page.A pedestal topped with the car- tographer's portrait, an emblem or shield, and other sketched drawings are all common in cartouches. Calli- graphicwriting, generally large in size, isused on these cartouches to display the map title, cartographer's name, and date. Maps prior to the 18th cen- tury have more intricate cartouches than the ones found in the late ISth century and beyond. More modern flourishes include

illustrations of the map subject- sketches of dolphins surrounding a map of dolphin movement, for ex- ample. Modern flourishes can also include decorative borders or specific subject-appropriate details on chil- dren's maps, such as a pirate skull on a treasure map.

TECHNIQUE While modern map design tends toward the clean and simple, with white space being court- ed rather than shunned, flourish-style maps are the opposite. In these, the cartographer will want to fill most areas with map elements, graphics, or supporting text. The trick with these is to ensure that the flourishes are nu- merous and well distributed across the page. If only one or two flourish ele- ments are on a map, they will appear superfluous. In mapping software, illustration

flourishes are typically added by us- ing a marker symbol on a random-

Composition Patterns 117

flourishes are either hand-sketched- a drawing tablet computer is best for this-or typed in a text box after in- stalling the typeface on the device. If the latter technique is used, be sure to embed the font in the finished elec- tronic map file.

See also: Pseudo Natural

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The Po Valley by Hans van der Maarel, Red Geographies.

148 Cartographer's Toolkit

Diagrammatic larity to infrastructure schematics (transit maps), by their warped fea- ture shapes (cartograms), and by their lack of true scale (both). Back- ground information isusually kept to a minimum. Transit maps are often very complex even without any back- ground information, and cartograms may be difficult-sometimes impos- sible-to interpret, even without in- terference from background noise. Both styles contain simplified line work to a much greater extent than on other maps.

TECHNIQUE The geographic loca- tions of features are not as important in diagrammatic mapping as in other maps, but the relative positions of fea- tures must nevertheless remain intact. To produce adiagrammatic map from geographically accurate data, it isbest to begin in a mapping program and export to a graphics program to do the bulk of the design work. In tran- sit maps, labels and stops will need to be placed individually, with one eye on ideal placement positions and the other eyeon relative accuracy. For ex- ample, if the first three bus stops are within one mile of each other but the fourth is two miles from the third, the first three stops and labels can be placed nearer to one another than they are to the fourth, if space permits. In cartograms, the simplification

of line work and distortion of shapes is generally (but not always, some are hand-drawn) achieved via a special- ized cartogram algorithm.' In transit maps, it would be possible to begin by simplifying the transit lines with a simplification algorithm, but the re- sults would likely not be adequate. For transit maps, then, it is best to begin with spatially-correct geographic data and proceed to modify it onscreen, or to simply draw new lines using the geographic data as a guide. The map reader might benefit from

having a companion map that shows

one page; this is done for portability and to provide extra space for label- ing the much highernumbers of paths and stops located in the inner-city. Less common diagrammatic applica- tions include solar systemmaps, brain maps, and even cartograms, all of which stretch or shrink the features- usually countries-by the magnitude of avariable. The focus in this section is on transit and cartogram styles.

STYLE Diagrammatic maps are easily identified by their visual simi-

Composition Patterns 149

USAGE Probably the most distin- guishing feature of a diagrammatic (schematic) map isalackof consistent scale, while maintaining, for the most part, accurate feature chronology. In other words, parts of features may be stretched out of proportion, but they still line up in the order inwhich they appear in the real world. The most common application of this map style is in mass transit mapping. In these, inner-city locations are stretched to a further degree than the outlying loca- tions in order to fit everything onto

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the diagranunatic map superimposed on what's known as a distortion grid that isessentially a 3D mesh,with larg- er grid cells corresponding to places where the scale is stretched and small- er grid cells corresponding to plae:es where the scale is scrunched. The dis- tortion grid gives the map reader an immediate understanding of where and by how much the scaleisdistorted.

'See Scape Toad software developed by Dominique Andrieu, Christian Kaiser, and

Andre Ourednik, for one example.

World Topography displayed on Gridded Population Cartogram by Benjamin D. Hennig.

150 Cartographer's Toolkit

Choropleth Maps USAGE A choropleth map represents a continuous variable viaa color pro- gression (graduated color scheme) within discrete features such as coun- tries, states, or watersheds. For exam- ple, states with high infant mortality might be shown in red, while states with low infant mortality might be shown in yellow. The hue for each state can be matched with a legend that records the rate (or range of rates) associated with that hue. The choro- pleth technique is usually applied to area features but can also be applied to line and point features. Some limi- tations of the choropleth pattern are:

I.No inferences about the mapped variable can be made at a finer scale than that which is mapped. A map of body-mass index bystate, for ex- ample, shows nothing about how that variable is distributed across counties within the states.

2. The changes in color between fea- tures can make it seem,to the novice map reader, that thevariablechanges abruptly at those points,when in re- ality the variable probably changes much more smoothly.

3. If the features being mapped have widely varying areas, the map read- er may misinterpret the larger areas as being more important, even if

they have the samevalue as smaller features.

4. Bright colors can be interpreted as being more important, even if this was not the cartographer's intention.

STYLE Usually,background data and other map details are kept to a mini- mum on choropleth maps, as they tend to clutter the display. Bivariate

a static presentation. In a static map presentation, bivariate choropleths are placed on individual maps, often as small multiples. Interactive maps usu- ally present bivariate choropleths on the same background map but with a toggle for the user to turn each cho- ropleth on and off, with no two being displayed at the same time.

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choropleths-where there isone color scheme for one variable and another color scheme for another variable- are not combined on the same map in

TECHNIQUE Choropleths are easy to create in most mapping software. The major cartographic consider- ation is how to break up the data

Method What It Is Not Good For

QUANTILES Equal number of data values in each category

Skewed data

EQUAL INTERVALS Equal data value ranges Skewed data

JENKS

Minimum variation within categories, maximum

variation between categories

Comparisons across time or between different datasets

Most data including skewed data

NESTED MEANS

Categories above and below mean (2), above and below

sub-means, etc.

Non-even numbers of categories; skewed data

GEOMETRICAL INTERVAL

Breaks are based on a geometric series; variance is minimized within classes

Understanding by the Average Map Reader

into ranges that make sense, which depends on the numerical distribu- tion of the data-especially when it contains outliers or a skewed dis- tribution. Different strategies for breakpoints exist. To begin with, if there are set breakpoints that are es- tablished for the data, use those. For example, a map of body-mass index will have a breakpoint at 30, sincethis is the obesity threshold. However, many datasets are too unique to have commonly accepted breakpoints. The cartographer also needs to

consider normalizing the data if it is appropriate. For example, a dataset showing where schools are located in a state may need to be adjusted forpop- ulation in order to obtain a meaning-

ful map. The most common normal- izing factors are population and area. Without normalizing the data, the map may simply show theunderlying population or area trend rather th~ the trend in the focus data. If preVl- ously established breakpoints are not going to be used, and the norm~- tion issue has been dealtWith,varIOUS . 'or how to break up the dataopnons n

into appropriate bins will need to be considered. See the table on this page for more information on these classi-

fication methods. . The color progression can consist

of a single hue that varies in bright- ness from low to high, or a scheme with multiple colors. Multicolor pro-

. use two different colors, ooegressions

Composition Patterns 151

Good For

Comparisons across time or between different datasets

Normally distributed data where mean isan accepted

break-poiot

Skewed data with many duplicate values.

for the highest and one for the lowest class; each progresses toward a mod- erate color for the median class. The number of gradients in a single pro- gression should be keptto fiveor few- er--beyond this, the map reader can- not make an accurate match between the legend and the map.Furthermore, the color progression between classes needs to remain consistent. A large

ch e in color from one class to an-ang . other can lead a map reader to the in- accurate cooclusion that those classes are further apart in magnitude than

they really are.

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152 Cartographer'sToolkit

Heat Maps Composition Patterns 153

from the hot spot areas, where a con- tinuous gradient of color-from dark in the central rings to light in the out- ermost rings-is applied. Typically, the heat map data is semi-transparent and layeredonto abasic location base- map to provide a sense of where the high and lowpoints occur relative to landmarks and roads.

USAGE A heat map represents a con- tinuous variable through the use of a graduated color scheme; the color scheme, as its name implies, is usu- ally thermal. As opposed to choropleth maps, heat maps depict the magnitude of a variable-s-density, usually-with- out regard to the underlying geom- etry and usually in a spatially con- tinuous manner. In essence, the data is "splashed" across the map to show where there is a lot of something rela- tive to where there is a little of some- thing. Note that heat map isalsoused to signify a two-dimensional, non-spatial matrix with a graduated color scheme; this isnot the waythe term isused here. Heat maps, and their progeny hot

spots, can pinpoint areas that require interventions, such as crimes, infra- structure decay, or biodiversity loss. They can also pinpoint more positive areas, such as access to fresh food, walkable neighborhoods, or high employment.

STYLE As mentioned in Usage, the color schemes used in heat maps are most often of a thermal variety: a low amount of the variable in a light color and a high amount of the variable in a dark color, usually red. For hot spot rendering, the colors are applied to concentric rings that emanate out

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TECHNIQUE Because the color scheme for heat maps is continuous, the legend ofaheat map can represent that continuity as well. A continuous color schemecanbe represented as dis- crete boxes of color in the legend but can also be shown with a color gradi- ent along with labels for the minimum and maximum values. Insome cases a legend may not be necessary, such as in anewspaper overview map of crime hot spots, if the colors are self-explan- atory. With Western-centric map read- ers, red willbeautomatically interpret- ed to signifyahigher magnitude of the variable than yellow or light green, for example. Though not common in gen- eral overview maps, hot spots can be annotated in the map with other de- tails that are needed to interpret the visual. For example, a crime hot spot might be labeledwith explanatory text concerning the particular crimes asso- ciated with that region .

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154 Cartographer's Toolkit

Type as Map shown; this decision may be driven by the relative importance of the road or the label that looks the best. The choice of typeface for each

type of feature is something to care- fully consider. It goes without saying that the overall character of the map will be dependent on the personal- ity of the typefaces more so than on standard maps. Beyond the typeface's personality, it is also important to choose varieties with bold weights and narrow character widths in order to achieve apleasing hierarchy. These varieties of typefaces will also mini- mize as much white space around the glyphs as possible, which allows

USAGE Type maps, or typography maps, have labels that mark spatial features rather than points, lines, or areas. In effect, the labels become the points, lines, and areas through label repetition. Current examples of these maps are almost exclusively artistic impressions of cityscapes, due to the density and linearity of features in those regions.' With some additional effort and creativity, they can be cre- ated for any type of region.

STYLE Most of the words on a type map are in uppercase to give a neater appearance, so that there are no ascenders or descenders to break up the visual pattern. The choice of typeface for each feature type is ob- viously important. Narrow character glyphs and bold weights are preferred because they create a denser appear- ance. Large blocks of repeating text can create unintended lineor area-like artifacts, which is resolved by stagger- ing the text on each line in a random- ized manner. The style of these maps is impressionistic-the repetition of words provides a much different ex- perience when viewed up close than when viewed at a distance.

TECHNIQUE Tedium, or,more eu- phemistically, attention todetail is the

operative technique for these maps. Typically, one begins by blanketing the map page with a single word or phrase, where each word or phrase is separated by a character, such as a centered dot. Then, the smaller features (e.g., roads, buildings, or canals) are layered on top, thereby "cutting out" the underlying words. The top layers are further separated and delineated from the background by surrounding the text with halos or boxes that are the same color as the background. Each label intersec- tion-such as road intersections- needs to be examined individually to determine which label should be

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Olympic Peninsula by Gretchen N. Peterson, PetersonGIS. Washington D.C. by Axis Maps LLC

Composition Patterns 155

the map to appear more solid when viewed from a distance. It may not appear at first glance

that color will be an important con- sideration on type maps, but it is. Trying different color schemes and aiming for high contrast between the main blanketed word or phrase and the other words is important. To provide additional contrast, it may be necessary to consider a solid color fi.ll under the words of smaller, linear fea- tures such as streams. While it is true that the cartographer of a type map should try to use only typography to define the areas on the map, using a solid fi.ll in a few places may be nec- essary if enough contrast cannot be achieved via typography alone.

'The best-known typographic maps in

the cartography world are by Axis Maps.

Look up examples of Paula Scher's

more free-form typographic maps for

additional inspiration as well.

156 Cartographer's Toolkit

Polar Aspect USAGE Polar aspect projections dis- playa polar region in a realistic way. They are tangent at the poles; imag- ine your map as a flat piece of paper with its center point touching a globe at a pole. Polar views provide an al- ternative and more accurate depic- tion of the polar regions compared to the more common equatorial aspect maps, which often distort the poles to a great degree and are therefore dif- ficult to interpret in the polar regions. Polar aspect maps are seen in maps

of arctic exploration, animal move- ment, political ownership dispute, climate, and more. However, they are one of the least frequently used projections types. Because the polar aspect map is a relatively rare pro- jection type, it is included here as a pattern. The polar aspect's inclusion in the cartographer's toolkit assures that this useful projection-type won't be overlooked.

STYLE Many polar view maps are encapsulated byabounding circle in- stead of a bounding box (frame) due to the natural circularity of the hemi- sphere geography from this point of view. (The example shown here has a

rectangular bounding box, however.) In most cases, the cartographer re- stricts the mapped area to within a single hemisphere to minimize distor- tion. An artist's map may stretch the mapped area beyond the hemisphere, although spatial accuracy is then greatly compromised. Both hemi- spheres may be mapped on the same sheet more accurately by placing the two hemispheres side by side. Depending on the projection cho-

sen, the accuracy of area, distance, or angle can be maintained, with these varying in some projections as dis- tance from the pole increases. On North Pole aspect maps, the Inter- national Date Line commonly runs toward the top, but the map can be rotated to anydesirable configuration.

Shanghai·

• Beijing

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TECHNIQUE The main technique to be mindful of ischoosing a suitable projection. In mapping software, the needed projections for this pattern are sometimes grouped into polar projec- tions, though these are actually polar aspects of projections that can also be viewed in the equatorial or oblique aspects. The stereographic projection, centered at one of the poles, is popular for this type of mapping, but others, such as orthographic or gnomonic, may be used as well.

,. Seattle. ",

• San Francisco

.los Angeles

CHINA

PAKISTAN

,. \ , . AFfHANISTAN '

MONGOLIA

"... ;. ..... :. '"

s S

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Moscow.

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Arctic Ocean

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ICELAND

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.New York

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Polar View Map, North Pole by Nick Springer. Springer Cartographies LLC.

.......

Berlin •.

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Composition Patterns 157

Latitude and longitude graticule lines should be added when possible, in order to aid comprehension of this unique aspect. They do not have to be numerous, and they can be thin, dashed, or dotted to minimize their appearance. As with graticules on any map, the best option is to run them underneath landmasses, though, oc- casionally, maps are created where the graticules run over the landmasses. When layering them under the land- masses, the cartographer might con- sider an artistic effect whereby the lines end just before they intersect with the landmasses.

158 Cartographer's Toolkit

Flow Arcs STYLE Maps that are entirely fo- cused on flow arcs are most often depicted on a global scale, though it is possible to present connections at a medium or large scale if the data is spatially constrained yet rich enough to be meaningful. The connections between the points are typically rep- resented by great circle arcs on a flat map or a globe. Great circle arcs rep- resent the shortest distance between two points on the surface of a sphere. This is an interesting concept because itmay not be immediately apparent to the cartographer that great circle arcs, especially on a flat-map projection, are appropriate. Recent flow arc maps tend to have

very dark blue, gray, or full-black backgrounds with brightly colored connection lines.' Light backgrounds with dark connection lines are also seen-i-especially if the flow arcs make up just one element in a more complex map composition. Because flow arc maps tend to be quite gen- eral, showing basic trends (even if a large amount of data is behind those trends), the background contextual information is kept simple. Political boundaries are not alwayspresent, for example. Indeed, when a largenumber of flow lines are mapped, sometimes they themselves form the background landmass structure.

USAGE Maps with flow arcs, also known as network flow maps, illus- trate connections between points. Often these connections represent the flow of something-air travel, dis- eases, goods, information----but they

can also represent distances, personal relationships, and other more abstract datasets. Direction and magnitude of flow are also represented on some flow arcs. Flow arcs do not need to com- prise the entirety of the composition.

For example, an otherwise standard map can include just a few arcs with arrows showing the direction of mi- gration of a bird species. Conversely, an entire map can be comprised solely of flow arcs.

~405km Daily PeakTime Travel Distances on London's Tube Network~_- 3744km

12052km

13174km

The London Tube Network: Daily Travel Distances by James Cheshire, lecturer at the ueL Centre for Advanced Spatial Analysis.

Map produced by James Cheshire, spatialanalysls.co.uk Oatil fromTfL "Total,divided by 250 (approx no. weekdays)

Some flow arcs form connections, or hubs, as a natural by-product of their display. The connections are im- plied where the lines interconnect or merge, symbolized as small dots or as graduated circles where the size of the circle is related to the magnitude of connections at that point. These con- nections, at least the major ones, are often labeled as well, either with the location name or an explanatory note.

TECHNIQUE These maps are often created completely within R, a sta- tistics software. Over-cluttering the map can be an issue when using mas- sive datasets. In such cases, it is best to display only those connections that are of the highest importance. Line thickness and color can be used instead to show the magnitude and type of a variable. For example, a map of truck routes shows lines of varying widths depending on the number of tons associated with the flows. This produces an interesting effect where the places with the most flow have enough lines to become virtual areas, while the areas with sparser flow are depicted with lines emanating from the larger flow areas.' Animations of these maps could also be informative, using time series to show ebbs and flows of the variable as time passes or in periodic cycles.'

Composition Patterns 159

lA widely circulated example is Paul Butler's

"Visualizing Friendships" map created for

Facebook.

"See the U.S. Department of Transportation's

Texas Truck Flows map, 1998.

-See The Media Lab by Stuart Brand, for perhaps

the first written introduction to this idea. Brand,

Stuart. The Media Lab: Inventil1g The Future at

M.l.T. New York: Penguin, 1988.

160 Cartographer's Toolkit

Pseudo Natural Composition Patterns 161

1633n

mated algorithms. In this way, entire map services are created that can be used as backgrounds in webmaps of any scale and any region where there are corresponding flat-map services.

Tustumena LakeUSAGE Maps with pseudo natural

characteristics represent a departure from the more common flat-map backgrounds used in most web ser- vices and many printed products. As such, they provide a different, and often richer, user experience. For ex- ample, a typical flat-map background shows a national forest with a single, green hue. Bycontrast, apseudo natu- ral map background displays a natu- ral forest with varying realistic shades of green and depending on the scale, individual trees of varying types ac- companied by drop shadows. Using realistic shadowing and other natu- ralistic graphics provides a more re- alistic "world" in which to showcase map data. An emerging concept that has not

been fully implemented at the time of this writing is the transformation of flat maps from web services into pseudo natural maps on the fly.This type of pseudo natural map achieves its realism not through the typical car- tographic workflow-manual place- ment of elements-but through auto-

STYLE Pseudo natural maps employ real-life color schemes, realistic shad- owing, and 3D effects.' A specific 3D technique called bump mapping is often used in pseudo natural maps, commonly for rendering realistic tree canopies, other vegetation, and beach sand. When a large amount of surface area needs to be textured with intri- cate shading, bump mapping is pre- ferred overother techniques because it is faster. The algorithms that produce bump-mapped features do not alter the original surface; instead they add a surface of modeled shadows to the top of the feature. Texture, if not pres- ent on all mapped features, is at least a primary visual effect. When natural features gradually

give way to other natural features in real life, the pseudo natural map sim- ulates it by gradually decreasing the density of one of the natural features while increasing the density of the adjacent one. This is distinctly differ- ent from normal flat maps that have sharply delineated feature boundar- ies. Because of this and their other

K EN A I NA

• 2451ft 747m

5269ft 1606m

--~ Kenai Fjords National Park, U.S. National Park Service.

TECHNIQUE Texture contrast be- tween features is useful on larger scale pseudo natural maps. For example, man-made features, such as roads, could be rendered flat and texture- less relative to adjacent forest, beach, or meadows. The resulting contrast

provides visual relief from what would otherwise be a completely textured display. To derive a naturalistic palette, capture color formulas from photo- graphs of similar real-life landscapes to better estimate the exact amount of variance between the green hues of, for example, deciduous and conifer- ous trees.

'More information on this nascent

technique is available from the Cartography

and Ceovisualization Group at Oregon

State University.

realism devices, pseudo natural maps often give a faux aerial-photo feel to the display.

162 Cartographer's Toolkit

Interactive Composition Patterns 163

How the user will interact with the map is just as important a style com- ponent as the cartographic aesthetic in these maps. The interactivity is often provided via semi-transparent navigational buttons (pan and zoom) placed on top of the map. Many in- teractive maps use basically the same menu stylesbecause their users are al- ready accustomed to them, thus mak- ing them the easiest to use. However, when it comesto layer switching, there are several common toggle methods in use, from tabs to radio buttons. These styles cannot all be discussed in the limited space available here and the cartographer is advised to learn the options via in-depth sources.

• GreeleyUSAGE Interactive maps are digital maps either entirely created by the cartographer, or, more often, created as mash-ups on familiar basemaps such as Open Street Map or Google Maps.' Interactive maps provide a lot of spatial knowledge in a compact space compared to static or printed maps. From toggling layers, to pop- ups on mouseover, to increased detail on zoom, these maps enable a truly engaging experience. Used as teach- ing tools, decision-making tools, or navigational tools, these maps also span all conceivable subjects with a spatial component.

STYLE Interactive maps have the potential to provide complex data in a user-friendly interface, and indeed, this is how most interactive maps are designed. Conversely,they can be very simple-a two-toned store locator with a fewpop-up pictures, for exam- ple, is also an interactive map.

Ft (oHins.

Freshy Map: Interactive Snow Conditions at Ski Resorts by Christopher Helm and Brendan Heberton.

TECHNIQUE Requirement fulfill- ment and design must be addressed together, with neither outranking the other. In the implementation phase, it is not uncommon at the time of this writing to require the use of several- to- many technologies in order to create the needed functionality for a semi-complex to very-complex inter- active map. This may change in the future, but until then, it is imperative that the interactive map designer be flexible in the implementation phase, modifying requirements and capa- bilities as needed.

With specific regard to the carto- graphic components of interactive maps, harmonious symbology for every possible layer combination can be a challenge. In extremely complex maps, the user's choices may need to be limited so as to disable the viewing of too many layers at the same time. The standard basemap is complex by itself. If there are many layers to be shown and the basemap information isnot critical, a simpler basemap may be used instead.'

'Google Maps API and Open Street Map are

common, but some new basemap services,

including a unique watercolor basemap, have

been added to 'the options more recently;

see Stamen Design's examples online.

'See the Esri Light Gray Canvas map or Stamen Design's Toner for two options.