Designing Better Maps - A Guide for GIS Users

Advances in digital mapping and geographic information system (GIS) software have put powerful mapmaking tools into the hands of a growing number of people without basic cartographic training or knowledge. Whether they're analysts, researchers, planners, or graphic designers, this emerging class of GIS user shares the need to create clear and accurate maps that communicate and convince. In the 1980s, the desktop publishing revolution produced an excess of garish newsletters and posters. Similarly, today's digital mapping revolution has the potential to cause an overflow of poorly'designed, inaccurate maps that undermine the intended audience's ability to understand.

Fortunately there's a solution. Designing Better Maps is written specifically for this audience of people not trained in cartography who nonetheless need to create maps as part of their regular work. This book covers the essentials of sound map design, showing readers how to design better maps:

• Design for purpose and audience
• Consider the relationship between resolution and viewing distance
• Select appropriate fonts and symbols
• Choose intuitive colors that serve the content
• Arrange scale bars, legends, and other map elements Hito organized layouts
• Choose and apply appropriate export options

Whether creating maps for reports, print publication, or interactive Web displays, readers will find Designing Better Maps essential reading and the first step on the path toward producing clear and meaningful maps that invite reading.