44
MaP Design
are produced for which the mapmaker seemingly had no understanding of the topic.
Some time and thought are needed to develop an appropriate title that reflects the
map purpose and yet is brief enough to fit into limited space. The map in Figure 3.1
clearly is intended to show the nature of the U.S. Public Land Survey System, but the
cartographer has chosen to title it “Pecan Lake.” The area shown is from the (mythi-
cal) Pecan Lake quadrangle, but the purpose of the map is not to show the lake, but
to illustrate the numbering and lines of the Public Land Survey System.
Figure 3.2, titled “Oil Exploration,” includes several symbols representing arche-
ological sites. Either these symbols must be removed because they are irrelevant and a
source of visual noise, or the map needs a title that more clearly characterizes the map
purpose. If the map is designed to illustrate the threat posed to archeological sites by
oil exploration, then the sites remain, and the map must be retitled to show that the
relationship between the two features is the subject.
There may be three parts to the title: main title, subtitle, and perhaps a date. If
both titles and subtitles are needed, as is common for series maps, which must stand
alone or will appear in a book, the cartographer must decide what information should
be emphasized, that is, the visual hierarchy of the text. Let us take as an example a
population map of Nevada (Figure 3.3). Both “Nevada” and “Population” are needed
in the title. Which should
be given greatest emphasis, or should both be equally
emphasized? If the map is to be one of a series of state population maps in a book
on population, “Nevada” would be emphasized to distinguish it from other states. If
the map is to be in a geography of Nevada, then “Population” should be emphasized.
In the latter case, placing the name Nevada on each map would be redundant, so it
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Pecan Lake
(dry)
Pecan
Creek
Road
Robinson
Principal Meridian
Base Line
T2N
T1N
T1N
T1S
R1W
R1E
R1E R2E
0
1
2
Miles
Pecan Lake
