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MaP Design
a screen have different requirements from printed maps. New formats have become
available, such as tiny monitors used on GPS screens, cell phones, and MP3 devices;
these have different requirements than wide-screen computer monitors.
Since color is so ubiquitous on monitors and color printers, it is easy to forget
that it isn’t always an option. Color printing in journals and books is still expensive.
Some scholarly journals may require an author to pay for color illustrations. Asking
what the format is will save a great deal of grief and reworking.
A map designed
for color cannot simply be reproduced in black and white. This topic is discussed in
Chapter 4.
How Will it Be Produced?
Most maps today are produced with a computer, although some maps are still hand-
drawn. In some cases maps are drawn by hand because of lack of computer access; in
other cases, such as maps for book illustrations, it is artist preference. The principles
of design apply whether the map is drawn with pen and ink or a sophisticated com-
puter, but one should have an idea of how the map will be made at the beginning.
Software for computer-produced maps is of four types: GIS, illustration/presenta-
tion, CADD (computer-assisted design and drafting), mapping, or some combination
of these. GIS software is a powerful analytical tool with map presentation capabili-
ties.
With GIS, data can be linked to places and calculations can be made. As of this
writing there are some design limitations and some types of symbol that are difficult
or impossible to create using GIS. These problems will be solved at some point. By the
same token, some symbols that are easy to produce with GIS cannot easily be created
manually or with presentation software. Presentation or illustration software, such
as Adobe Illustrator or CorelDraw, is used by graphic artists and allows for highly
creative products. However, such software does not allow analysis, calculation, or
linking of data to locations automatically. If these capabilities are not needed, a pre-
sentation program can be a good choice. Like illustration programs, CADD doesn’t
allow for analysis. There are some mapping programs, such as Microsoft MapPoint,
that have limited GIS capability and allow simple
analysis and creation of maps,
but do not allow much flexibility in design and composition. Some recent mapping
programs, such as Ortelius and Map Publisher, combine GIS and design (Figure 2.9).
If one is using a dedicated GIS, combining it with a presentation program usually
allows for the best analysis and presentation product.
How Will it Be
Reproduced,
Disseminated, or
Viewed?
There are three main considerations here: Will the map be viewed on a monitor, pro-
jected on a screen, or printed on paper? The map’s mode of presentation especially
affects the colors used, but also affects the layout and format. A map designed to be
viewed on a monitor usually cannot be printed on paper without some loss of color
fidelity—the colors look different. Solutions to this problem are discussed in Chap-
ter 4.
For paper maps, one needs to know if the map will be printed by an inkjet printer,
a
laser printer,
offset lithography, or some other method.
There are differences in
Map Design 27
costs and time. If the map will be produced in large numbers, as with offset lithogra-
phy, the cartographer should consult with a printer early in the design process.
