Making Maps That Communicate(Sumber: Charlie Frye, ArcMap Products Team Manager, ArcUser,The Magazine for ESRI Software Users, October-December, 2001, pp.38-43)

Faculty of Computer ScienceUniversity of Indonesia

Dr. Aniati Murni

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The purpose of making a mapEvery map has a purposeThe main purpose is to provide an effective communicationAnalog to a well-written document and a good speechBidang yang mengajarkan bagaimana membuat map yang baik adalah bidang kartografi dan geografiBeberapa aksioma yang mendukung pembuatan suatu map yang baik adalah:

• Know some basic principles• Rely on common sense and well-designed software• Get more help from a cartographer

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The purpose of making a mapMaps can show where something (a city, a mountain, a river etc.) is located.Maps can show how something is distributed in geographic space.Maps can show the impact of a problem.Maps can show why a location is important.Typically, a map does not have more than one purpose.Try to create a map for many purpose or to put to much thing in one map can blur the message and can confuse the map readers.Better strategy: use more maps where each focused on a single message.

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I. Know Some Basic PrinciplesA specific or special-requirement map and a general map

A map with a specific or special requirement • A skilled cartographer is needed

Guidelines for good general and informative maps • Size, scale and media• Category of map: handheld, tiny, and large-format

map• Focus• Correctness• Balance• Completeness• Map Publishing Tips

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Audience / Map ReadersProvide any information that will be useful for least prepared readerAccuracy of map comprehension is also important. Provide a map for several colleagues will be different from providing a map for larger and broader audience (that needs more factors to be considered) Problems that may be faced

• The use of colours in a map for colour-blind readers• The use of discipline-specific terminology• The same cultural-drive perception of colour and

symbology

A list at the end of the article

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A map with too much detail represented in a small-size symbols and annotations

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Size, scale, and media

The physical size of a map relative to the geographic extent / size will dictate the scale of the map

Media: high-quality papers, newsprint, Web page, or slide presentation

Handheld map (road or analytical maps)Tiny (newspaper or Internet)Large format (poster size)

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Commercially produced mapsHigh-quality paper can support text size as small as six pointsMap can support complex and detail symbologyPrinted on typical inkjet printerIt should be able to be read from a distance of about 24 inches

Handheld Maps

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Display absolutely necessary features Use simple symbologyIt is not a shrinking handheld map (detail will not be able to read)Use the same symbol as in handheld map but in smaller size (a red interstate highway with centreline in handheld map is shown as narrow-width red line in a tiny map).Tiny maps can be reproduced in newspaper or on the screen of a mobile device

Tiny Maps

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Tiny and Large-Format Maps

Tiny Map Large-Format Map

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Display absolutely necessary features Use simple symbology (the same as a tiny map) Use simpler and larger symbology and annotation than those in a handheld map (text size is 25% larger, marker symbol is 50% to 100% larger and line width is 100% to 300% larger)The map can be read from far awayUse Bright colours (ArcMap has colour ramps from Bright, Light to Dark)

Large-Format Maps

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ArcMap Colour Ramps

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‘Where to look first’Figure-ground phenomenon (front and background concept) Figure-ground refers to the way your eye and mind organize a visual array into contrasting areas: the figure and the groundThe figure is a distinct shape above or in front of its surroundings. The ground is the amorphous area that recedes from and surrounds the figure.Use warm colours (red, yellow and solid black) for important features / to be focused on first.Use cool colours (blue, green, light grey) for background

Focus

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Ideally, the map maker is responsible for the correctness of the data shown in the map. He/she knows the source of the data and the intended use of the data.It is also possible to cross-verify the map with other similar maps.Check the spelling of any text, the relative location of features, the correctness of data valuesGive the organization that support the data a credit on the map.

Correctness

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Place of the map title slightly closer to the elements on the map All the elements should not be too close to a neat line (at least eighth of an inch)Avoid overlapping elements, for example: where to put a legendThe most important part of a map should occupy the central positionLegends may not be a single column where the symbol on the left and the description on the right

A balanced and refined-looking map

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A balanced and refined-looking map

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A map should have the basic elements: title, legend, scale bar, and North arrowA map with longitude (runs north and south) and latitude (runs east and west) does not need North arrowLongitude and latitude are implicitly provide scale information but scale bar will help the reader to understand the distance in the mapScale bar and North arrow are not required if the reader is quite familiar with the area and is not going to take any measurementLegend is not required for self-evident symbol and extraneous information distract the map messages / focusOmit the map title if it is part / explained in the document. Round numbers appropriately if the map provide quantitative informationUse light and conservative colours (Light to Dark ramps) if a map is to be printed. Use bright and strong colours (Bright ramp) if a map is to be displayed on computer monitor.

Completeness

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Map file can be imported using BMP or JPEG format with high resolution of 300 dpiFor Internet publication JPEG and PDF format is suitable with the resolution of 96 ppi)If the map will be printed commercially, we can use the EPS format

Several Map Publishing Tips

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Map should be as simple as possible, elegant in form, and easy to read. Using every colour in the spectrum and every stylish typeface on one map will degrade the map communication abilityIf the map exhibited superior technical expertise and exacting detail, then the information used to produce the map should also be goodSpecial effect shown in professionally published maps needs more time and effort, so do not try to do that when the time is limited

II. Rely on Common Sense and Well-Designed Software

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Several books and references are available.

III. Get More Help From a Cartographer