Maps: How to Make a Good One

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Maps How to Make a Good One
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The Message

• Each map is a form of essay conveying a message
• What are you trying to say?
• The art of selecting, transforming, and
  portraying information on a map
• A delicate balance of anticipating and answering
  reasonable questions
• Not overwhelming your reader's attention with
  needless detail

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The Message

• Avoid confusion.. Therefore avoid questions
• The map needs to be self explanatory

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Contents

• The map area the central focus
• The legend .. Clear and easy to read
• A scale bar .. To measure distances
• A title .. Clear and NOT TOO BIG .. Indicating
  purpose
• Label key elements place names

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Contents

• Text indicating ..
• Basic message your are trying to convey
• Author , institution and date
• The source of the data
• The date of the data

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Thematic Mapping

• A special problem of being clear and concise
• You must have a contextual framework
• Time context
• Locational context
• Concise legend .. 5 categories not 7
• Plain terms in legends and headings
• Clear statement of the unit areas displayed
• Raster transparency over unit areas???

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Choropleth Maps

• Area units with shading showing data
• Modifiable Unit Area Problem
• What color to use for shading????
• Which color is most popular???

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• Carefully choose your denominator
• Crimes per what
• Person .. Household Restaurant College
  student ????????
• Per square mile hectare acre???
• Summary statistics, such as averages, medians, or
  percentages are already measures of intensity and
  should not be normalized