 Maps can communicate information and help people to understand places, processes and people in different geographical locations. The most effective maps are designed and include several cartographic elements. Designed Maps provides numerous helpful clues for users to create more effective and useful maps and several examples using different techniques are included.
Designed Maps
A Sourcebook for GIS Users
Cynthia A. Brewer
ESRI Press
170 pages; 2008 - ISBN: 1589481607
29.16 USD / 18.50 Euro
Review by Jeff Thurston
While there are quite a few books that
can be found which include maps. But it is much more difficult to
find a book that describes how to make maps. Designed Maps: A
Sourcebook for GIS Users by Cynthia A. Brewer includes several maps
created internationally and guides the reader on how to 'learn to
see' maps as the author states. All maps are not the same. In fact,
this book leaves the impression that maps may not only be designed,
but they may have character as well.
This book is divided into two broad
categories – reference maps and thematic maps. The first half of
the book pertains to the reference mapping while the later includes
more thematic mapping content. The first chapter deals with
reference mapping which is often associated with topography and the
general depiction of landform. The swisstopo example is intricately
detailed and includes many of the elements Swiss maps are well-known
for in terms of mountain terrain and topographic relief
representation. By comparison, a forestry related map like the Oregon
Department of Forestry example is oriented to forest management and
is highlighted with shades of green and focused on administrative
units.
Thus, in reading only a few pages of
this book, the reader gains an understanding about the relationship
of map creation to map users – and that maps are designed. They may
be designed for forestry professionals, specific types of
applications or even for designated areas where they are to be used.
In each case they are designed for people to better understand
regions or locations and information about those places.
Brewer explains alongside each map in
the book how lines, administrative areas, labels, symbols and other
cartographic elements can be used to understand places and different
goals. Navigation maps are included for the City of Spokane, Oahu
Transit Services, Michelin, AAA and T-Kartor of Sweden, as examples.
Noticeable characteristics of navigation maps include distinct
labels, amount and types of lines used for the representation of
roads and other transportation corridors. The author uses ESRI
ArcGIS 9.2 software and has provided ArcMap Tips beside selected maps
for re-creating similar maps by readers in their own work.
Special Purpose Maps for visitor and
recreation purposes, describe's techniques such as emphasis, naming and
black and white usage for designing easy-to-understand maps of this
type. Also included are 3-D style maps with oblique angle views which
can be used for navigation purposes. Contrast and saturation use are
discussed and consistent orientation and alignment of labels is
presented.
The print process is also mentioned in
this book in several places. Through including this information, the
author provides the reader with necessary information and
understanding about hardcopy map production and how end products are
generated. It also provides an appreciation of the relationship
between print processes and map design. After all, faithful
reproduction of maps from software through the print process can
dramatically impact final map representation. As a result readers can
interpret print processes and what may be achievable and the costs
involved.
Other Special Purpose Maps include
infrastructure maps which are typically large-scale and containing
domain specific information and symbology. The map example of streets
for New York City that may need resurfacing is fascinating, including
line and width changes, colour gradients, road condition and
lightness sequencing. This example, more than any other, highlights
and underscores the value maps for infrastructure related work bring
at a time when many folks believe a simple database query alone is
all that is needed. There can be nothing simpler and more efficient
for a utility worker than to view such a map and gain an
understanding of the situation immediately.
Other common approaches for
representing infrastructure include keeping maps pale so annotation
and symbology are more noticeable and the reduction of housing size
while expanding the size of service point symbology. The map from P2
Energy Solutions for Zapata County, Texas is striking for both its
simplicity and elegant design of mineral lease information.
In the thematic mapping section, the
Hong Kong Special Administrative Region land use is reflective of
maps we most commonly associate with thematic mapping by its use of
bold colours and clearly divided land use areas. Most striking is
the example provided by the Natural Resources Conservation Service
which depicts soil orders and includes soil profile columns from
field sites. Other examples include the historical tracks of
cyclones (1945-2006) by the Pacific Disaster Center which is
intriguing for its fuzzy hair-like appearance, and provides a good
overall glimpse into the vast number of cyclones which have occurred
and their pathways over time. Meanwhile, it is easy to comprehend why
air traffic controller's have stressful jobs. As shown by the Las
Vegas McCarran Airport tracking map, literally hundreds of aircraft
ply the skies around the city's airport daily, forming a tangled web
of flight paths and directions.
The final chapter of this book is about
quantitative mapping. These types of maps are often deemed the most
attractive by many viewers because of their rich colour gradients,
simplicity and the nature of their content. They often show
bathymetry, rainfall amount across the landscape, snowdepth along
topography, heights of trees in regions, income by neighbourhood and
other information, which people know exists but cannot see. That is,
it is often only appreciable through viewing it on a map. Maps like
the Sweetwater Authority example, showing water sources by
residential area are strangely interesting to view and comprehend.
Bird species by ecoregion, as provided by CommEn Space depicts a
region of the Columbia River and is another example of information
which beckons one to ponder and think more deeply about what the map
is presenting.
The book is aptly titled because it
implies that maps are created to deliver a message through design
elements. It guides readers to see cartographic products in terms of
the information and understanding they can provide which often
remains unavailable otherwise.
Designed Maps helps GIS users to
produce maps attractive to the eye, awakening to the mind and
resonating with effective representation of the real world. This book
equips map makers with the tools and knowledge to build bridges of
better spatial awareness visually.
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