Map Font Basics (Article 1): Typography
Typography is the art and methods of arranging type, type design, and modifying type glyphs. Unaware Readers = Happy Maps
- On maps and plans, text competes with the graphics. In books and magazines, they normally work alongside one another.
- Cannot be placed over backgrounds that share the same color as the letters.
- Typically placed over many various types of backgrounds – which are usually dark – instead of a common white background
- Small text can be difficult to read when placed over complex, textured backgrounds.
- The eye reads text on a map letter-by-letter, instead of through word shapes.
- Single lines of text often run across the page diagonally, or on a curve.
- Type size and style changes quite a lot on maps.
- Much map text is set in quite small point sizes.
Legibility of Type on Maps
Type Basics
Serifs
Sans-serif
Font Families
Font Variants
The font variant specifies whether the text is to be rendered using a normal, bold, italic, or oblique face.
Weight, Stretch, Size
How to Font
Digital fonts are created using specialized software. A basic understanding of how fonts are created can help the cartographer in their understanding of typography. While font creation is beyond the scope of this lesson, an excellent tutorial is available from [Divide By Zero] Fonts and the Tom 7 Institute of Computer Knowledge (TICK). Divide By Zero is my favorite site for free and very fun fonts.
Map Font Selection
- The typeface must be legible in small sizes
- Typeface must also be slightly narrow, to avoid line lengths running too long
- Different styles and weights of the typeface must be clearly differentiated from one another
- Individual letters must also all appear different from one another, to help minimize misreadings and misunderstandings
- Typeface must be able to form good word shapes, which will also directly increase legibility
Role of Sketching in Map Design Layouts
Hand-drawn sketching plays an important role in the digital arts. The larger a project is, and the more concepts a client will need to see, the more sketching will prove its worth in your design process. Consider using rough sketches for composition or layout options in your next project. Or push yourself to do a handful of thumbnail sketches before firing up your cartography software of choice. Create ten well thought out map design options (not seven to make three look good). Select three and refine each. Select one for final design.
In Role of Sketching in the Design Process, Sean Hodge discusses sketching for rapid concept development in traditional design. This same process should be considered in cartography.
Cartographer as Designer – IT’S A PROCESS!
Example Map by XNR Productions
Those who design maps for use by others engage in a specialized form of communication. They create images to represent physical and phenomena in three-dimensional space, but they create them on two-dimensional surfaces. To do this effectively, a cartographer must understand not only the phenomena on which the maps are based, but also how to work with them to communicate information to others. No amount of skill with computer software can rescue a map that displays a lack of understanding of the cartographic design process. Read more
ScapeToad Cartogram Software
ScapeToad is an interesting, free, stand-alone cartogram software for Mac, Windows (and available platform independent). ScapeToad 1.1 is available for download under a GPL license.
Classical thematic mapping displays spatial patterns of theme or series data depicted on familiar reference maps of standard land-area polygons, which are typically distorted only by the selected projection. A cartogram is a map in which some thematic mapping variable – such as travel time or Gross National Product – is substituted for land area. The geometry or space of the map is distorted in order to convey the information of this alternate variable. There are two main types of cartograms: area and distance cartograms. To see examples, WorldMapper.org provides a nice collection of cartograms.
(from the ScapeToad website) “The visualization of social phenomena through classical thematic mapping often leads to unsatisfying representations… Cartograms are a well-known technique used to compensate for this inconvenience by breaking the link between statistical regions and their topographical areas. Consequently, this liberates one visual variable (that of polygon size) for a more relevant use, such as the representation of the relative social importance of these regions (usually measured by the size of their populations), while leaving intact their topological relations.”
Thematic Mapping Engine
Thematic Mapping Engine (TME) enables you to visualise global statistics on Google Earth. The primary data source is UNdata.
The engine returns a KMZ file that you can open in Google Earth or download to your computer.
Flex Projector for Interactive Creation of Map Projections
Flex Projector is an interesting new program for anyone who has ever been interested in map projections. The program provides a great hands-on interface for understanding more about how map projections work as well as to create your very own. Alpha 0.32 was released 1 April 2008 for Linux, Mac and Windows by Bernhard Jenny, Institute of Cartography, ETH Zurich and Tom Patterson, US National Park Service. According to their website (http://www.flexprojector.com) Flex Projector is a freeware, cross-platform application for creating custom world map projections. The intuitive interface allows users to easily modify dozens of popular world map projections—the possibilities range from slight adjustments to making completely new projections. Flex Projector is intended as a tool for practicing mapmakers and students of cartography. It took a couple tries to get the shape files to show up in the map window, but once they did I was off and running. Very ingenious application. I think this will become standard material for every introduction to cartography class out there. Its well worth a look for all professionals.
