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Designing Great Maps for Print and Image
Allen Carroll and Larry Orman
2015 Esri UC
About this workshop series
#1: Print/image
#2: Web/mobile (next!)
About Allen
and Larry
Allen Carroll, Esri Online Content Mgr. •Family cartographer and navigator since age 5•27 years at National Geographic, 12 of them as Chief Cartographer•Believer in the power of maps to inform and inspire
Larry Orman, Exec. Dir., GreenInfo Network•Magic marker map maker for years pre-GIS•19 years NGO advocacy and 19 geotech world •Maps are a powerful lens for seeing the world
Why we’re here
We’re inundated with
data but starved
for meaning
This? . . . or this?
What we’ll cover in this session
Why good map design?
Visual perception
Communication and map design
Design process, before/after
Common pitfalls
What to remember
1
2
3
4
5
6
1
Good Map Design – why we’re here
Who are we?
What do we want?
But . . .
Good Design Matters
➔ Maps ARE communication – must persuade, inform
➔ Maps can take big efforts ($, time)
➔ Maps are hard for people to understand
➔ Professional credibility from product quality
➔ Competition for attention – display maps losing out!
Caveats
Focus = GIS-based display maps
NOT:•Illustration/publication•Web/interactive
2
How Visual Perception
Works
2 6 6 9 3 8 7 2 1 4 8 0 9 5 6 7 9 11 5 4 7 8 2 6 0 9 1 2 7 8 9 1 3 4 50 4 1 9 8 7 2 4 5 1 3 9 0 1 6 2 9 2
2 6 6 9 33 8 7 2 1 4 8 0 9 5 6 7 9 11 5 4 7 8 2 6 0 9 1 2 7 8 9 1 33 4 50 4 1 9 8 7 2 4 5 1 33 9 0 1 6 2 9 2
How your brain perceives
<1 second
PRE-ATTENTION
1-3 seconds
ATTENTION
3-20 seconds +
COGNITION
3+ secondsengage content
<1 secondColor, shapes, contrast
1-2 secondsresolve objects
First glimpse is critical for engagement
<1 second 1-2 seconds 3+ seconds
Field of vision
20’
30’
3’
Page sized map/image Poster sized map
Eye tracking, movement
Design for eye movement
3
Communication and Design
Is map design just cartography?
Communication design elements
Intent Audience StrategyFormat
Who is your audience?
What is your point?
Intent Audience StrategyFormat
Imagine your audience . . .
Willing to learn, but busy
Intelligent, but maybe not map savvy
i.e., Allen’s mom..
Your point . . ?
● A message
● A sequence of telling
● An audience in mind
Make your POINT with storytelling
From raw data
>
to story
>
to storyFrom raw data
What’s the point?
No story, no point
“A little forest left, one big opportunity”
Intent Audience StrategyFormat
Format: Where and how will your map be seen?
Close up working poster
Small publication image
Page size atlas
Media event >
Intent Audience StrategyFormat
Strategy for Map Design
What type of product?
What goal?
Aha!
Inspire
Compel
Persuade
Inform
Adjudicate
Strategy for Map Design
What product?
What goal?
4
Design Process
Design gives voice to our information
DESIGNING a map . . .
(Assume story and audience)
1. Process
2. Concept
3. Composition
4. Layout
5. Branding
6. Cartography
1. PROCESS of Design
7: Finalize
6: Refine, TEST
5: FULL Draft, Test
4: Draft MAP Content
3: Draft FRAME
2: Composition SKETCH
1: CONCEPT + Data Test
2. Concept
Sketch main
message and
key elements
using layout
tools
3. Composition . . .
How visual space works
•overall balance
•rule of thirds
•negative space
•flow/eye movement
4. Layout
Grids:
•align
•apportion
•balance
5. Branding
Simple look & feel
Color
Logo
(fonts)
5. Branding
Organizational branding
6. Cartography
Design to support
the story!
6. Cartography
Design to support
the story!
6. Cartography
Design to support
the story!
6. CARTOGRAPHY
LABELS
fonts, sizes, colors
Use a systematic
approach for labels
6. CARTOGRAPHY
Thanks, Gretchen Peterson
and Cindy Brewer!
COLORS:
support message
hierarchy, and
play well together
TECHNIQUES –
Map in Title Bar
Determine final extent of the map (any changes = new shapefile)
Create a shapefile of title bar (create a graphic of your title bar, convert to shapefile)
Use the Erase tool on title bar, inputting shapefile you want to extend into the title bar
TECHNIQUES – Map in
Title or Bottom Bar
Determine final extent of the map (any changes = new shapefile)
Create a shapefile of title bar (create a graphic of your title bar, convert to shapefile)
Use the Erase tool on title bar, inputting shapefile you want to extend into the title bar
TECHNIQUES – Feather Boundary
1. Run Buffer wizard on outline feature – 10+ rings
2. Select options for buffers styles - coastal fades use the “Outside only” option.
3. Add a field for the transparency values – use field calculator to divide or multiply the buffer values, with most transparent as highest number (0-100), least transparent ring as lowest.
4. Use Symbology tab of Layer Properties to select color.
5. Click Advanced Transparency - select transparency values field. Each ring of the buffer will be displayed as the color you selected with that percent of transparency.
If design doesn’t feel
good in your heart,
what the mind thinks
doesn’t matter
Extreme Makeover
The GIS Edition
How do you know a design is good?
• 3 second test
• Formal critiques
• Pay attention over time
• Compare yours to others’
5
Map DesignPitfalls
Pitfalls in Map Design
1. Undefined overall message
2. Everything at once - no hierarchy
3. Passive titles
4. Disorganized grid
5. Poor color choices
6. Overdefined elements (boxes..)
7. Element-size relationships
8. Fonts, label hierarchies
Pitfalls:
Undefined
message
Pitfalls:
Everything at once
(no hierarchy)
Pitfalls:
Passive &
extended titles
Hamilton Township WetlandsCape Atlantic Conservation District
e.g.,
What We’ve Accomplished
Areas Needing Protection
etc.
Pitfalls:
Disorganized
grid
Pitfalls:
Poor color choices
Pitfalls:
Overdefined
elements
(esp. boxes)
Pitfalls:
Confusing font
hierarchies
(and layout)
Pitfalls:
Element – size
relationships
Legend
Scale
North arrow
What to Remember
6
➔ Maps are stories that unfold in layers of perception
➔ See through audience eyes, from the beginning
➔ Direct the eye through your map story
➔ Remove and simplify
➔ Always grow your design skills
See more on Instagram
instagram.com/greeninfonetwork
and
www.greeninfo.org
Thank you…
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