gis for small scale atlas cartography h harpercollins gis ireland 2012 jim irvine head of digital...
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GIS for small scale atlas cartographyHHarperCollins
GIS Ireland 2012
Jim Irvine
Head of Digital Resources and the Collins Newsroom
Collins Geo Division
HarperCollins Publishers
GIS for small scale atlas cartographyHHarperCollins
GIS Ireland 2012
Who we are: Collins Geo – publishing division of HarperCollins
Making maps for over 175 years
Brands include:
• Collins and Times atlases and maps• Nicolson guides• Collins Bartholomew (non-trade)
30 staff based in Glasgow
GIS for small scale atlas cartographyHHarperCollins
GIS Ireland 2012
Our print products:
GIS for small scale atlas cartographyHHarperCollins
GIS Ireland 2012
Where does GIS fit into all this: Map Data / Scitex 1980s
Arc/Info and Oracle since 1989
Maplex since mid 1990s
1995, Times Concise Atlas – first fully digital flow line
Now ArcGIS 10.0, Oracle 11g, Maplex (stand alone)
Adobe CS5
GIS for small scale atlas cartographyHHarperCollins
GIS Ireland 2012
What does GIS look like? 1:1,000 scale
Familiar to most people
Individual land parcels and buildings
GIS for small scale atlas cartographyHHarperCollins
GIS Ireland 2012
What does GIS look like? 1:20,000 scale
Clearlygeneralised
Largest scale maps we produce
Small part of our portfolio
GIS for small scale atlas cartographyHHarperCollins
GIS Ireland 2012
For us GIS often looks like this1:1,000,000 scale
Still includes standard map elements
Partial coverage
GIS for small scale atlas cartographyHHarperCollins
GIS Ireland 2012
Or sometimes like this1:5,000,000 scale
Largest scale with global coverage
Cartographic specification applied in ArcMAP
GIS for small scale atlas cartographyHHarperCollins
GIS Ireland 2012
Flagship product, Times Comp: map scales123 reference maps, by scale
1:1m 19 maps1:1.25m 8 maps1:1.5m 2 maps1:2.5m 34 maps1:2.75m 2 maps1:3m 2maps1:5m 32maps1:6m 1 map1:8m 2 maps1:9m 2 maps1:10m 4 maps1:12.5m 2 maps1:15m 3 maps1:20m 3 maps1:22.5m 3 maps1:40m 2 maps1:60m 2 maps
GIS for small scale atlas cartographyHHarperCollins
GIS Ireland 2012
Flagship product, Times Comp: thematic maps26 plates of thematic material, including > 60 maps
GIS for small scale atlas cartographyHHarperCollins
GIS Ireland 2012
Specific issues in using GIS at small scales:
Features appear at multiple scales
The data we use and where we get it from
Data structures and feature coding
What accuracy means for small scale reference mapping
Cartography is the end point (for printed maps at least)
GIS for small scale atlas cartographyHHarperCollins
GIS Ireland 2012
Features appear at multiple scales, e.g. Dublin World map 1:60m Europe map 1:12.5m
UK & Ireland map 1:2.5m Ireland map 1:1m
GIS for small scale atlas cartographyHHarperCollins
GIS Ireland 2012
The data we use and where we get it from: Increasing choice of ‘large’ scale data, more available for free
• National Survey [OS open data in GB]• Open source [Open Street Map]• Commercial [Nokia/Navteq, Tom Tom/TeleAtlas]
No readily available ‘world atlas’ scale data
•VMap0 , VMap1 – questions over currency•Commercially available data sets – not optimised for cartography
So, we’ve built our own
GIS for small scale atlas cartographyHHarperCollins
GIS Ireland 2012
The data we use and where we get it from: Collins Bartholomew digital vector map databases
• British Isles at 1:250k• 50% of the world at 1:1m or 1:2m• Global coverage at 1:5m
Embody our own editorial policies
Build from best, most authoritative sources
At least 100 man years to create and maintain
GIS for small scale atlas cartographyHHarperCollins
GIS Ireland 2012
Data structures and feature coding: Complex feature coding to support multiple cartographic specs
Independent from surface design, but embodies knowledge of how feature must appear on different types of map
• Codes for boundaries through water• Intersecting hierarchies for river codes• Over 100 codes for linear water features
Primary river A Primary river A through dry lake/salt panPrimary river A through lake APrimary river A through lake BPrimary river A through lake Cetc…
GIS for small scale atlas cartographyHHarperCollins
GIS Ireland 2012
What accuracy means for small scale atlas mapsSpatial accuracy important – things need to be in the right place
GIS for small scale atlas cartographyHHarperCollins
GIS Ireland 2012
What accuracy means for small scale atlas mapsBut also need to be sure we’re showing the right things
GIS for small scale atlas cartographyHHarperCollins
GIS Ireland 2012
What accuracy means for small scale atlas mapsBut also need to be sure we’re showing the right things
GUINEA: ADMINISTRATIVE DIVISIONS Summary of the system Guinea is subdivided for administrative purposes in several ways, and some uncertainty over the years regarding what these differences signify, along with some changes in designations and regional systems, has sometimes led to leading information sources giving mutually inconsistent interpretations, or changing their view. The true 1st-order local government system, however, is broadly agreed to be a set of 34 divisions, of which 33 are Prefectures (Préfectures in French). The designation of these as Regions was discontinued some years ago. The remaining division (covering the area round the national capital, Conakry) is described as a Municipality, or as a ‘Special Zone’ - or more formally as the ‘National Capital Special Zone’. There is also a set of seven higher regions: these are usually called Governorates (Gouvernorats). They represent a central planning and statistical arrangement rather than being true administrative divisions as such in the usual sense of local service-providing authorities.
GIS for small scale atlas cartographyHHarperCollins
GIS Ireland 2012
What accuracy means for small scale atlas mapsWhat’s right for one user may not be right for another
GIS for small scale atlas cartographyHHarperCollins
GIS Ireland 2012
What accuracy means for small scale atlas mapsWhat’s right for one user may not be right for another
GIS for small scale atlas cartographyHHarperCollins
GIS Ireland 2012
What accuracy means for small scale atlas mapsWhat’s right for one user may not be right for another
GIS for small scale atlas cartographyHHarperCollins
GIS Ireland 2012
What accuracy means for small scale atlas maps Issues of cartographic generalisation
• Selection• Simplification• Exaggeration • Displacement
All maps are an extraction of reality, so these issues persist at all scales
The smaller the scale the greater the level of abstraction
GIS for small scale atlas cartographyHHarperCollins
GIS Ireland 2012
What accuracy means for small scale atlas mapsCartographic displacement and simplification
GIS Data Symbology applied to linework
Lines displacedBuildings simplifiedIs it still accurate?
GIS for small scale atlas cartographyHHarperCollins
GIS Ireland 2012
For us cartography is always the end point We use GIS as part of our map production flow line
Editorial policy and decision making informs the contents of our GIS databases
Databases specifically designed to produce quality maps
Authority valued by customers who need trusted picture of the world
Digital data as well as printed maps
GIS for small scale atlas cartographyHHarperCollins
GIS Ireland 2012
So let’s end with some maps
Jim IrvineCollins Geo, HarperCollins Publishers