Making Maps

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Making Maps

• What Makes a Good Map?
• ArcGIS Tool for Making Maps

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Map Design Objectives

• Fulfill Intended Purpose
• Share Information
• Highlight Relationships
• Illustrate Results

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Communicating with Maps

• Determine what the purpose of the map is
• Who is the intended audience
• What features are needed
• What is the best way to symbolize the map

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Factors Controlling Cartographic Design

• Map Objective Will the map be in a book, hang
  on a wall, be folded or flat, black and white or
  color, etc?
• Audience Is the audience a group of scientist or
  the general public.
• Scale Controls how much detail can be on the
  map.
• Technical Limits Minimum line width, Limited
  color palette, lack of color
• Mode of use Will the map be used in the field?
  Place on a wall? Used while driving?

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Standard Symbolization

• People are conditioned to recognize standard
  symbols.
• Roads Red
• Streams Blue
• Geologic Symbols Open-File Report 99-430

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Visual Balance

• Most people will focus on a point slightly above
  the images geometric center

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Graphic Perception

• The human eye has difficulty deciphering more
  than 12 colors in one view
• This map has 48 colors.
• Can you tell the difference between California
  and Nebraska

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Graphic Perception(cont)

• The human eye can decipher no more than seven or
  eight shades form the 256 shades of one color
• All of the lines differ by 1.9

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Graphics Perception(cont)

• 5 to 7 of the population is color blind
• Your map may be reproduced in Black and white.
• Texture vibration is an effect that causes some
  patterns to move.

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Annotation

• Map labels are useful but lack control.
• When you need more control use Annotation
• It is possible to create feature linked
  annotation in 8.3 (ArcEditor, ArcInfo)
• New product at 9.0 called Maplex has rules based
  labeling

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Hillshades

• Peoples eye are trained to interpret hillshades
  with the light source coming from the NW.
• If the light source is from the SE many people
  will invert the topography

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Light source from the SE
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Light Source form the NW
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Geographic Features

• The map body is the main focus for the map. It
  should be prominently displayed. The other
  elements of the map should not direct attention
  away form it.

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Marginalia

• Marginalia refers to any supporting information
  or elements on the map.
• Title It should be the largest text on the map
  but not over power the main body
• Legend A figure to help the reader to
  interprate the map body.
• North Arrow
• Scale Bar
• Borders and Neatlines
• Source information and other text including
  projection information
• Inset maps

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Map Templates

• If you are making a series of maps set up the
  Marginalia and save the project as a template.
• You can use the template to give the series a
  consistent look an feel.

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