arcgis outline

4/19/12 Part I: Visual Communication | GEOG 486: Cartography and Visualization

1/2https://www.e-education.psu.edu/geog486/l1_p3.html

Navigation

login

Start Here

Course Orientation

Resources

Course Home Page

Program Home Page

Syllabus

Instructor Information

ANGEL

Library Resources

Help

Course Outline

Lesson 1: Visual Thinkingand Visual Communication

Checklist

Part I: VisualCommunication

Part II: Visual Thinking

Part III: Map Purposeand Audience

Part IV: ProductionEquipment

Part V: Print andElectronic Media

Part VI: Objects vs.Fields (and Vector vs.Raster)

Part VII: Print/DisplayResolution

Part VIII: Exporting aMap

Part IX: Color Spacesand Specif ication

Part X: OutputSpecif ications

Lesson 1 Deliverables

Lesson 2: Creating aReference Map for Use inEmergency Management -Week 1


Lesson 4: MultipleClassif ications

Lesson 5: MultipleRepresentations

Lesson 6: RepresentingVolumes and Surfaces

Lesson 7: A DeeperUnderstanding ofCoordinate Systems andProjections

Lesson 8: MultivariateRepresentation andGeographic Visualization

Capstone Project

Printer-FriendlyLessons

Lesson 1

Lesson 2

Lesson 3

Lesson 4

Lesson 5

Part I: Visual Communication

Printer-friendly v ersion

In 1952, with his slender but influential volume "The Look of Maps," Arthur Robinson called for a more objective, scientific

approach to creating maps. In the final paragraph of a chapter entitled "The Cartographic Technique," he outlines the central

question his book attempts to answer: "If we then make the obvious assumption that the content of a map is appropriate to its

purpose, there yet remains the equally significant evaluation of the visual methods employed to convey that content" (p. 17,

my emphasis.) What Robinson implies with this statement is that a map's primary function is to communicate information to the

map reader, and that we as cartographers should try to develop design principles that will make this communication a more

effective and efficient process.

Responding both to Robinson's call for empirical research and the broader academic trend towards a scientific (i.e. positivist)

approach to the social sciences, cartographers began to describe maps as vehicles for communication. Several

cartographers constructed models of how they thought this communication process functioned. Although some of the models

and flows of information were quite complex, they all shared certain common elements: geographic reality, the cartographer's

interpretation of that reality, the map itself and the map reader's interpretation reality (see Figure 1). This way of thinking

about cartography has come to be known as the communication paradigm, and was the dominant way of thinking about maps

and map-making from the 1960s to the early 1990s.

Figure 1. Generalized cartographic communication model.

Although most cartographers now think about maps in a less restrictive manner (you'll read more about this in Part II: Visual

Thinking), many maps are used to visually communicate information, so the concept is not worth discarding.

Maps can communicate information to map readers because both the map-maker and the map-reader have some common,

shared understanding of what the graphical marks that make up a map mean. The science that provides a conceptual

framework for thinking about this shared understanding is the science of signs or semiotics. Three important semiotic terms

that we will use to talk about symbology are: sign-vehicle, interpretant, and referent. Figure 2 shows one cartographic

example of a semiotic model. In this example, the map symbol (upper portion of the diagram) acts as the sign-vehicle, or the

carrier of meaning; the map reader's conception or mental image of a tree acts as the interpretant or concept (lower left); and

the actual object in the real world (lower right) acts as the referent, or object of reference.

Figure 2. Semiotic model of a tree.

One aspect of map communication we'll focus on in this course is formalizing sign-vehicle-referent relationships by creating

both categories of symbols and guidelines for matching those symbols to objects we want to represent in our maps. (Look for

more about this in Lesson Two's symbolization concept gallery item.)

4/19/12 Part I: Visual Communication | GEOG 486: Cartography and Visualization


Author and/or Instructor: Adrienne Gruver, John A. Dutton e-Education Institute, College of Earth and Mineral Sciences, The Pennsylvania State University

Penn State Professional Masters Degree in GIS: Winner of the 2009 Sloan Consortium award for Most Outstanding Online Program

© 2012 The Pennsylvania State University

This courseware module is part of Penn State's College of Earth and Mineral Sciences' OER Initiative.

Except where otherwise noted, content on this site is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

Please address questions and comments about this open educational resource to the site editor.

Lesson 6

Lesson 7

Lesson 8

Capstone Project

‹ Checklist up Part II: Visual Thinking ›

Recommended Readings

If you are interested in investigating this subject further, I recommend the following:

Robinson, A. H. (1952). The Look of Maps. Madison, WI: the University of Wisconsin Press.

Peirce, C. S. (1985). Logic as semiotic: The theory of signs. In R. E. Innis (Ed.), Semiotics: An Introductory

Anthology. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, p. 4-23.

4/19/12 Part II: Visual Thinking | GEOG 486: Cartography and Visualization


Navigation

login

Start Here

Course Orientation

Resources

Course Home Page

Program Home Page

Syllabus


ANGEL

Library Resources

Help

Course Outline


Checklist



















Capstone Project


Lesson 1

Lesson 2

Lesson 3

Lesson 4

Lesson 5



Although cartographers have not focused their attention on designing maps to promote visual thinking until recently, this type

of map use is certainly not a new phenomenon. Two historic examples of scientists using maps to think are Dr. John Snow's

cholera map of 1854 and Alfred Wegener's illustration of his theory of continental drift in 1915.

While investigating an outbreak of cholera in London, Dr. John Snow noticed that a large proportion of deaths occurred in

households near the Broad Street water pump. He theorized that the water from this pump was the source of contamination,

and lobbied to have the pump handle removed so that people could not drink the water. Although it's unlikely that this action

stopped the epidemic (it was already waning when the pump handle was removed), the map he later constructed to visualize

where the cholera deaths occurred [See Figure 3] provided strong support for his hypothesis (i.e. confirmation).

Figure 3. Portion of John Snow's (1854) cholera map in London.

Although Alfred Wegener was not the first person to notice that the coastlines of South America and Africa fit together

remarkably well, after noticing their similar shapes on a map, he was inspired to seek out other geologic and paleontologic

evidence that would support his hypothesis that the two land masses were once joined together. His ideas eventually matured

into what we now know as the theory of continental drift, which he published in 1915 [See Figure 4].



Lesson 6

Lesson 7

Lesson 8

Capstone Project

Figure 4. Wegener's maps illustrating his theory of continental drift. (Wegener, 1922)

In 1987, an NSF-sponsored report on Visualization in Scientific Computing that described the potential for using computer

technologies to support scientific inquiry by making scientific data and concepts visible prompted David DiBiase (1990) to

develop a functional model of visual methods that are used in geographic inquiry. In his model, DiBiase proposed that visual

methods serve several functions in scientific research, ranging from acts of visual thinking performed in the private realm

(exploration and confirmation) to acts of visual communication performed in the public realm (synthesis and presentation).

MacEachren (1994) expanded this model of map use by adding another dimension: interaction [See Figure 5].

Figure 5. (Cartography)3 (MacEachren and Taylor, 1994).

MacEachren introduced a new way of thinking about map use, which he called geographic visualization or geovisualization.

Geographic visualization, as you can see in the figure, is a type of map use that can be described as being performed in the

private realm, is focused on revealing unknowns in the data, and involves a high degree of human-map interaction. Often

maps used in a visualization context are also used in conjunction with other visual aids, such as statistical graphics.

Visualization and communication are complementary aspects of map use. In other words, all maps involve both types of map

use, but differ in the degree to which they emphasize one or the other.

Visual thinking can be thought of as the cognitive process used in visualization that produces insights on patterns,

relationships, and/or anomalies in data. MacEachren (1995) presented a model of insight as a "seeing-that then reasoning-

why" process, where the map reader "sees" features, patterns and relationships by combining the graphical marks on the

page with mental categories she brings to the viewing process and then comparing what she sees with what she knows. This

recent change of emphasis in cartography to include the use of maps for visual thinking as well as visual communication, has

prompted cartographers to consider whether the symbol-referent relationships that have been developed for communication



purposes work equally well for all types of map readers and map reading tasks. This is still an open question in cartography,

and one that you will need to consider when designing a map. We will explore this idea in more detail in Part III: Map Purpose

and Audience.

Figures 6 and 7 are examples of maps that typify each end of the spectrum.

Figure 6. Example of a map used in a communication context.

Figure 7. Example of a map used in a geovisualization context.

The map in figure 6 shows a Penn State campus map with the purpose of visually communicating where a map reader can

park. Most maps that an average person comes across from day to day, are maps like this, communicating information









‹ Part I: Visual Communication up Part III: Map Purpose and Audience ›

known by the cartographer, to the public (or others rather than self), with little opportunity for physical interaction that would

alter the map.

Figure 7 is showing a screen capture of GeoVISTA Studio, open source software for geovisualization created by the

GeoVISTA Center at Penn State. The user loads a dataset into the software and is able to explore the phenomenon of

interest visually with the maps and other information visualizations. The dataset being shown in this image is of general

health status indicators (e.g. cancer incidence, mortality rates, doctors available, smoking prevalence, etc.) broken down by

gender, race and age, and is of the U.S. by county. The user literally interacts with the data by selecting, highlighting or

parsing variables of interest, certain segments of population, and/or geographic areas. He or she could explore clusters of

high cancer rates, correlations between rates and behavior (e.g. smoking), rates and other variables like environmental

contamination, or how different rates affect different populations in different places. The map that is made here is private (i.e.

made for oneself), interactive (the user can change the data being looked at), and the map (and other tools linked to it) can

potentially reveal unknowns.



Snow, J. (1855). On the Mode of Communication of Cholera. London: John Churchill.

Wegener, A. (1966). The Origin of Continents and Oceans. Translated from the German by John Biram. New

York: Dover.

DiBiase, D. (1990). "Visualization in the earth sciences." Earth and Mineral Sciences, Bulletin of the College of

Earth and Mineral Sciences, Penn State University 59(2), p. 13-18.

MacEachren, A. M. and D. R. F. Taylor. (1994). Visualization in Modern Cartography. New York: Elsevier

Science Inc.

MacEachren, A. M. (1995). How Maps Work. New York: Guilford Press.

Tufte, E. (1997). Visual Explanations. Cheshire, CT: Graphics Press.

4/19/12 Part III: Map Purpose and Audience | GEOG 486: Cartography and Visualization


Navigation

login

Start Here

Course Orientation

Resources

Course Home Page

Program Home Page

Syllabus


ANGEL

Library Resources

Help

Course Outline


Checklist



















Capstone Project


Lesson 1

Lesson 2

Lesson 3

Lesson 4

Lesson 5

Part III: Map Purpose and Audience


If asked to make two maps [and starting with the same dataset(s)], a cartographer may produce very different looking maps,

depending on who they are designing the map for and how the map is going to be used. As a cartographer, an important part

of your job is to ask enough questions to understand the audience you are designing for and what types of activities the map

will be used for. In this section, we will consider some issues that can affect the success of a particular design.

Expertise

One very important thing to consider is who your audience will be, and what their level of expertise is in both the subject

matter you are mapping and in generally reading maps. Knowing about the map reader's expertise may help you make

decisions such as what information to include on the map, what level of detail to show, and what types of symbols to use.

We'll use examples of two maps of Yellowstone National Park to illustrate different decisions that a cartographer might make

when designing for experts and novices [see Figures 8 and 9]. Figure 8 is a map for use by tourists visiting the park. Imagine

that you are the tourist, and you are trying to decide which back-country cabin to reserve for your vacation. You've heard

about the big fires that took place in Yellowstone in 1988, and you'd like to avoid reserving a cabin in a place where your only

view will be of regenerating vegetation. Figure 9 is a map that will be used by scientists to help them understand more about

fire ecology of the 1988 fires.

Figure 8. Map of Yellowstone National Park designed for a tourist.



Lesson 6

Lesson 7

Lesson 8

Capstone Project

Figure 9. Map of Yellowstone National Park designed for a scientist.

Because a tourist is not likely to have much experience with either Yellowstone National Park or with reading maps, the

cartographer should keep this map simple to avoid distracting the map reader with unnecessary information, but should

include enough labeling to orient the map reader. So the information the cartographer includes on this map is all relevant to

the decision the map reader is trying to make: which cabin to reserve. A scientist studying fire in the park is likely to be

familiar with the major natural features of the park (e.g. the lake, the mountain ranges and Old Faithful), and therefore

doesn't need the map space cluttered with unneeded labels. The scientist is more interested in information about when and

where fires started, how they spread over time, and perhaps some information on the amount of precipitation an area of the

park receives.

In addition to considering what information to include on the map, cartographers often have to make decisions on how much

detail to include. For example, the tourist is interested in simply identifying the areas that burned and those that did not, so a

two-class map (burned vs. not burned) is all the detail s/he needs. However, the scientist may want to know more about the

timing of when a particular place burned, so the burned area needs to be classed into time intervals (i.e. s/he needs more

temporal detail). The fire data on both of the example maps is derived from the same data set, but the cartographer has

made different choices about how much detail needs to be included on each map.

Finally, the map reader's expertise should be considered when choosing and designing symbology. A symbol that mimics the

feature's form in reality (i.e. a mimetic symbol like the one shown in Figure 10) may be more appropriate for a novice

audience, while an abstract symbol may be better for an expert audience, who wants to concentrate on the relationships

portrayed in the data.









‹ Part II: Visual Thinking up Part IV: Production Equipment ›

Figure 10. Three different symbol choices for representing hotels.

Media

Another factor that can have important implications for a map design's success is the final media the map will be displayed in.

Maps can be designed for a variety of media. Some examples of media you may be asked to design for include:

paper maps printed by an inkjet, laser printer, offset printer, or plotter

maps that will be photocopied or faxed

maps designed for display on a computer screen

maps used in an in-car navigation system or on a cell phone screen

maps displayed on a billboard

For each of these different media there are unique design challenges to consider. For example, the resolution of the map, the

distance between the map and the map reader, and the lighting conditions where the maps are viewed will vary greatly for

different map media and, in turn, will affect the usability and legibility of a design for a particular map use. We will talk more

about resolution later in this lesson in Part VII: Print/Display Resolution and in Part VIII: Exporting a Map.

4/19/12 Part IV: Production Equipment | GEOG 486: Cartography and Visualization


Navigation

login

Start Here

Course Orientation

Resources

Course Home Page

Program Home Page

Syllabus


ANGEL

Library Resources

Help

Course Outline


Checklist



















Capstone Project


Lesson 1

Lesson 2

Lesson 3

Lesson 4

Lesson 5

Part IV: Production Equipment


Producing a map may require several different types of tools and processes, depending on whether you are creating a

printed or electronic map. In this part of the lesson, we will think about the map production process in both generic and

specific terms. First, we will talk about some pieces of equipment that may be needed regardless of the media you choose to

work in, and then we will talk about some specific requirements for particular end products.

It may be helpful to organize our discussion by thinking about a typical workflow that you might use when producing a map.

Figure 11 outlines the basic steps in producing a map.

Figure 11. Typical map production workflow.

Data compilation involves gathering and collecting any spatial and/or attribute data that you will need for creating your map.

In some cases, the data that you will need for the particular map you want to create will already exist in a digital format that

can be directly imported into a GIS. Your own organization may have already collected the data, or they may have been

created by a government agency, non-profit organization or private firm. In other cases, the data you would like to use may

exist, but are in an analog rather than digital format. In this situation, you can often use a digitizing tablet or a scanner (see

Figure 12) to transform the data into a format that a GIS can use. Although an immense amount of digital geospatial data

already exists, you may still find yourself in the position of having to create your own data, either because no one has already

collected it or because the available data is not suitable for your purposes (e.g. a civil engineering firm will most likely need

more precise elevation data for planning road grades than what they can extract from a 30 meter resolution DEM). In this

case, you may need to use surveying equipment or a GPS receiver (see Figure 13). The compilation process is largely

independent of the final map media.

Figure 12. Digitizing tablet (left) and a Wide-format scanner (right)



Lesson 6

Lesson 7

Lesson 8

Capstone Project

Figure 13. Surveying equipment (left) (Source: USGS) and a hand held GPS receiver (right).

The second step in the map production workflow is the actual designing of the map. Most computer-assisted map production

used to be done with graphics illustration software. However, the cartographic tools in GIS software packages have gradually

been improving. It is now possible (in at least some software packages) to create all of the components needed for offset

printing within the GIS software. Some examples of GIS software packages you might use for map production include: ArcGIS,

MapInfo, IDRISI, Intergraph Geomedia, and Autodesk Map.

Although the cartographic tools embedded within GIS software have been improving, you may find that there are some

operations that you either just cannot perform in the GIS, or that are tedious and cumbersome in this software environment.

Often, cartographers turn to graphic design software for more sophisticated functionality and more precise control over

graphic elements. Graphic design software falls into three major categories: illustration software, image-editing software, and

page-layout software. Illustration software is vector based (i.e. the file contains objects such as points, lines and polygons that

you can manipulate (see a more detailed discussion of vector and raster in Part VI: Objects vs. Fields). Some of the more

popular packages include Adobe Illustrator, Macromedia Freehand, and CorelDRAW. Image-editing software, on the other

hand, is raster based (i.e. it is pixel-based rather than object based). Cartographers often use image-editors such as Adobe

Photoshop, Corel Painter, or Paintshop Pro to further enhance shaded relief in their maps. Page-layout software—such as

QuarkXPress, Corel Ventura, and Adobe InDesign (formelry known as PageMaker)—combines both the vector and raster

graphics handling capabilities of illustration and image-editing software packages.

The final step in the map production process is in creating the final output. The equipment you will need for this step will

depend upon the final production media used for publication. Here, we will consider two classes of media: print and electronic.

Maps published in electronic media (see more on this in Part V: Print and Electronic Media) are typically displayed on either a

computer screen, television screen, computer projector or some type of hand-held electronic device (e.g. PDA, cell phone,

etc.). Oftentimes, the design challenges you will face will be specific to the particular electronic display device so it's important

to find out as much as you can about the final output device(s). For example, a cell phone screen may be limited both by the

size of the display and whether it is black and white or color. A map displayed on a television news program may face the

limitations of (relatively) poor screen resolution and short viewing time. There can even be significant differences between

computer monitors: liquid crystal display (LCD) screens (e.g. laptop screens or the new flat-panel monitors) tend to wash out

colors as compared to more traditional cathode ray tube (CRT) computer monitors (see Figure 14).

Figure 14. LCD monitor (left) and CRT monitor (right) (Photos courtesy of Sony Electronics).

Maps published in print media fall into two general classes: maps printed on inkjet printers, laser printers or plotters (i.e.

personal printers), and maps that are professionally printed on offset printing presses. If you only need to produce a small

number of copies of your map, it's likely that you will choose to use a personal printer, as it is much quicker and cheaper than

having the maps professionally printed. Inkjet printers are typically the most affordable option, but they print at a lower

resolution than a laser printer, so you sacrifice print quality for cheaper production. Laser printers, which are now available

for both black and white and color printing, print at a higher resolution, but are typically 3-4 times more expensive to

purchase, and the cost of ink is also higher. Plotters are most useful for producing small quantities of large-format (greater

than 11x17") maps (see Figure 15).



Figure 15. Color inkjet printer (left), Color laserjet printer (center), and Plotter (right) (Photos courtesy of HP).

If you need to produce large numbers of a map, or if your map needs high quality printing (e.g. if you need to use very small

type or very fine lines), you will probably have your map professionally printed on an offset printer. Although the cartographic

design process is the same, regardless of how the final map is printed, offset printing requires a number of additional

processing steps, collectively known as pre-press operations. Figure 16 outlines the basic steps involved in pre-press map

production.

Figure 16. A typical pre-press production workflow.

As you can see in the figure above, the first step in this workflow is creating a digital positive image. This stage is the

equivalent to the output stage in Figure 11, the general map production workflow. At this point, you have a file that has either

been created with a GIS or with a combination of a GIS and graphic design software.

Although offset printing can be done in black-and-white, most cartographers who go through the trouble of having their maps

professionally printed are working with color. There are two main types of color printing: process color and spot color.

Process color printing allows the designer to choose and use a full range of color hues. This process involves passing the

map through the printing press four times, each time printing with varying amounts of one of four colors of ink: cyan, magenta,

yellow and black. We will talk about this type of color in more detail in Part IX: Color Spaces and Color Specifications. Spot

color printing is a type of printing that cartographers and designers use when they either want to include some color in their

maps but do not need (or cannot afford) a full range of colors, or when the color the cartographer would like to use is difficult

or impossible to create using process colors. Spot colors (also called custom colors), are premixed inks that are used instead

of or in addition to the four process colors.

Regardless of the type of color you use for your map, printing in more than one color requires the preparation of color

separations (see Figure 17). Color separations are a way to decompose the parts of a full color image into the four process

colors. For example, to create a particular shade of orange, you need to mix some amount of magenta ink with some amount

of yellow ink. Creating a color separation specifies the amount of each ink color that gets printed on the page. Color

separations can also be used to specify where spot colors get printed within an image. All graphic design software packages

(and some GIS software packages) have functionality that allows you create color separations. Personal printers perform

color separations internally, so this step is only needed if you are having your maps printed on an offset press.



Figure 17. Example of color separations used in 4-color process printing.

After you have created the necessary color separations, you need to produce a negative for each separation that can then

be used to create a printing plate. In the days of manual cartography, this negative was prepared photographically from a

positive image, using a process camera (you may have heard the term "camera-ready artwork") (see Figure 18). Today,

negatives can be directly created with an imagesetter, a machine that uses raster image processing (RIP), the same

technology that drives personal printers, to produce very high resolution images (up to 2,400 dpi). Once you've created a

negative, it is important to generate a pre-press proof (see Figure 19). A pre-press proof is an image that gives a close

approximation of what the printed image will look like. It allows you to check the map one more time for errors and to ensure

that the colors look correct. After proofing, the printer proceeds to make a printing plate using a platemaking machine. This

machine exposes the photoreactive printing plate and the negative to an intense light source, creating a positive or "right-

reading" plate for use with the printing press. One relatively new technology, the direct to plate (DTP) system now allows

cartographers to print to an offset printer without making film negatives. With this technology, the printing press is connected

to a DTP system. The system allows the printer to create color-separated plates by using the RIP software to drive a laser

that directly transfers the image onto a plate inside the press. By eliminating the need for negatives, DTP increases the

printer's efficiency. One disadvantage of the DTP system, however, is that it does not produce a color proof, so errors can

only be caught after printing has begun.

Figure 18. Camera-ready artwork prepared using manual cartographic methods. Click image for a larger view



‹ Part III: Map Purpose and Audience up Part V: Print and Electronic Media ›

Figure 19. Example of a pre-press color proof. Click image for a larger view

The final step is the actual printing. As its name implies, in offset printing, the printing plate does not actually come into

contact with the paper. Rather, ink is transferred from the plate onto a rubber blanket which is used to transfer the ink onto

the paper (see Figures 20 and 21). One of the main advances of offset printing is that it allowed designers and cartographers

to create "right-reading" originals.

Figure 20. Inks are transfered from the ink roller to the lithoplate cylinder and then to the blanket cylinder. From the blanket cylinder, theinks are transfered to paper. The term Offset comes from the fact that the image plate does not contact the paper directly. (Imagecourtesy of Michael Fleck, Instructional Multimedia Developer, Dept. of Materials Science and Engineering, PSU).

Figure 21. Offset printing press. (Photograph by David DiBiase, courtesy of Commercial Printing, Inc., State College, PA).

4/19/12 Part IX: Color Spaces and Specification | GEOG 486: Cartography and Visualization


Navigation

login

Start Here

Course Orientation

Resources

Course Home Page

Program Home Page

Syllabus


ANGEL

Library Resources

Help

Course Outline


Checklist



















Capstone Project


Lesson 1

Lesson 2

Lesson 3

Lesson 4

Lesson 5

Part IX: Color Spaces and Specification


Color specifications are ways of describing color. Unfortunately, the everyday language we use to talk about color is rather

imprecise. For example, if we ask you to think about the color purple, some of you might imagine the color of red grapes,

others might imagine the color of a Minnesota Vikings jersey, and still others might think of the purple of lilac flowers. For this

reason, scientists and other people who regularly work with color have developed a number of mathematical systems for

describing color. These mathematical systems are more formally known as color spaces. In this section, we will focus on two

color spaces that are directly related to map production technologies: CMYK and RGB. We will talk about other types of color

spaces and specifications in the Color Spaces concept gallery item in Lesson 2.

We are able to sense color because our eyes contain groups of cells (called cones) that are sensitive to light at specific

wavelengths. People with color vision impairment (see more about this in Part X: Color Vision Impairment) are missing some of

these specialized cells. This light that our eyes and brain transform into what we call color can come from two sources: light

that is emitted from a light source (e.g. the sun, a computer projector or a computer monitor) or light that is reflected from a

surface (e.g. paper or some other media that is covered with pigments that absorb and reflect certain wavelengths of light).

The CMYK (cyan, magenta, yellow and black) color specification system is used in production technologies that use

reflections from pigments to create color. CMYK colors are also known as process color. Because the colors we see when we

look at a map created with ink (i.e., pigments) are determined by the wavelength of the light that is left after the pigment has

absorbed other wavelengths, we call pigment-based media subtractive media (i.e., we perceive the color red when the ink on

the page absorbs, or subtracts, green and blue wavelengths) (see Figure 30). Although in theory, if we mix cyan, magenta

and yellow together, we should get black (i.e., all wavelengths of light are absorbed), it is very hard to obtain pure pigments,

so some amount of light gets reflected. For this reason, we also specify black in this color system, particularly for those cases

where designers would like to have a very pure black. This system uses percents of ink to specify colors. For example, a

bright red color might be specified as: C: 0%, M: 90%; Y: 60%, K: 0%.

Figure 30. Additive and subtractive primaries for reflective and transmissive media.

The RGB color specification system allows designers to specify how much light of a particular wavelength (i.e., the intensity)

should be emitted. This color system is called additive color because it is based on the stimulation of additional types of cells

(the different types) of cones with different wavelengths of light. RGB colors can be specified with a range of 0 to 255, with

255 being the highest intensity of light, and zero the lowest intensity of light (e.g., a vibrant red in RGB would be specified as

R: 255, G: 0, B: 0). This 256-level system is an artifact of computer technologies (i.e., there are 8 bits in 1 byte, and those 8

bits can be used to specify 256 levels).

A final color specification that is related to map production technology is the specification for spot colors. Spot colors, as you

may recall from Part V: Print and Electronic Media, are premixed pigments used in offset printing. This specification is similar

to the one used for CMYK in that you specify a percent of ink that you want to use for a particular symbol that uses a spot

color.

Now you've learned a bit about the two main methods cartographers use for specifying colors. We will go into more detail on

the RGB and CMYK color models in the Color Spaces concept gallery item in Lesson 2, and we will look at why it is not

possible to create all colors in all color specification systems.


4/19/12 Part IX: Color Spaces and Specification | GEOG 486: Cartography and Visualization








Lesson 6

Lesson 7

Lesson 8

Capstone Project

‹ Part VIII: Exporting a Map up Part X: Output Specifications ›


Brown, A. and W. Feringa. (2003) Colour Basics for GIS Users. Harlowe, England: Pearson Education Limited.

4/19/12 Part V: Print and Electronic Media | GEOG 486: Cartography and Visualization


Navigation

login

Start Here

Course Orientation

Resources

Course Home Page

Program Home Page

Syllabus


ANGEL

Library Resources

Help

Course Outline


Checklist



















Capstone Project


Lesson 1

Lesson 2

Lesson 3

Lesson 4

Lesson 5

Part V: Print and Electronic Media


Maps can be designed for and produced in a variety of media. We can classify map media into two major types: print and

electronic media. Maps created for each type of media have different design problems. In this section, we will focus on design

constraints that relate to color and resolution.

Maps designed for print media are also known as 'hard copy' maps. Although the general category of print media can include

many types of physical substances that maps are printed or otherwise transferred onto, most hard copy maps are produced

with either paper or a synthetic material (e.g., plastic) and ink or toner. When you are designing your map, you may need to

decide what type of paper to use or, if your map is part of a larger report or publication, the publication designer may make

this choice for you. Some common paper types include newsprint, uncoated offset stock (e.g., paper similar to that used in

your photocopier), or glossy papers that are coated with a chemical treatment (e.g., the paper used to print magazines or

coffee-table type books). Knowing what type of paper you will be using is important because different types of paper absorb

different amounts of ink, so the final color the map reader sees may look different if the same map (using the same color

specifications) is printed on different types of paper. For example, uncoated offset stock absorbs more ink than glossy paper,

so a given color will probably have a softer, more subdued appearance when it's printed on the uncoated paper. Price may

also be a concern: uncoated papers are generally cheaper than coated papers. If you are creating a map that might be used

under adverse weather conditions, and you are worried about the map getting wet, you might consider using a synthetic

material. Some common brands include Hop-Syn, PolyArt, and Tyvek. These synthetic materials are typically some type of

plastic polymer and are both waterproof and tear resistant. However, they are significantly more expensive than regular

papers, and not every printer is able to print with this type of material. Color appearance varies between types of synthetic

materials as well, so if you plan to print with a synthetic, it's important to carefully research the characteristics of the particular

material you have chosen to use. Other types of 'hard copy' maps include maps printed on transparencies and maps printed

to slide film.

Some advantages on choosing a 'hard copy' format include:

They are portable, and you can hold them in your hand.

They can be created with a variety of production technologies (see Part IV: Production Equipment for an overview of

these technologies).

They can be printed at very high resolution (see Part VII: Print / Display Resolution for a more detailed discussion of

this).

Some disadvantages of choosing a 'hard copy' format are:

Each copy of a map costs about the same amount to make.

Some reproduction techniques can lead to a loss in image quality (e.g. photocopying).

Maps created for electronic media are also known as 'soft copy' maps. Some authors have also called them temporary maps

(Robinson et al. 1996) or virtual maps. Although the maps are typically stored on a physical substrate (e.g., a computer hard-

disk or memory), they must be translated into a visual image with another device, such as a traditional CRT (cathode ray

tube) computer monitor, an LCD (liquid crystal display) screen (e.g. a laptop monitor or flat panel display), a computer

projector, or a television. Many 'soft copy' maps, such as those created with internet mapping sites, are ephemeral and last

only a few minutes. 'Soft copy' maps can be stored using several different types of file formats. Some examples include:

JPEG, GIF, TIFF, PDF, PNG, EPS, BMP, and EMF. We will discuss these file types and their characteristics in more detail in

Part VIII: Exporting a Map.

Some advantages of choosing a 'soft copy' format include:

Map reproduction costs are very low (usually much lower than the cost of creating the original design).

Maps can be created "on-demand." An excellent example of this is the National Map Viewer, an application created by

the USGS as part of its topographic map modernization program. If the area a map reader wants to focus on was

previously at the intersection of four topographic quadrangles, s/he can specify the map area s/he wants to print or

download and does not have to download or purchase four map sheets.

Everyone can be a map-maker (if not a cartographer!) using internet map servers.

Because map reproduction costs are low, maps can be updated more frequently, and at a lower cost.

Some disadvantages of choosing a 'soft copy' format include:



Lesson 6

Lesson 7

Lesson 8

Capstone Project

If the map reader wants to print a copy of the map, the cartographer may have exported the map at a very low resolution

to promote easier electronic dissemination (see Part VII: Print / Display Resolution for more about this topic).

The amount of time map readers are willing to spend reading a map may be shorter (especially in the context of internet

maps).

Different map readers will have different monitor and printer settings, so the map you create on your computer may not

look the same to the final map readers.

They require an electronic device for viewing [although portability is becoming less of an issue with the increasing use of

cell-phones and personal digital assistants (PDAs) with graphic display screens].

Two important factors that impose constraints on designing maps for different media are resolution and color. Typically, when

you are working with print media, you will have the advantage of having a much higher output resolution, which will allow you

to use smaller type, line widths, and symbols. Although you can create 'soft copy' maps at high resolutions, computer

monitors can only display images at a resolution of 72 dpi (much lower than a typical offset press resolution of 12,000 dpi).

We will look at examples of how reducing the resolution can result in poor image quality and readability if a map is not

redesigned for a lower resolution in Part VII: Print / Display Resolution.

Specifying colors can be tricky when you are designing for multiple media. This is due largely to how different media produce

the impression of color and how our visual perceptual system 'sees' that color. The colors that we see in print media maps are

a result of the wavelengths of light that are reflected from (i.e., not absorbed by) the printed page. We typically use the CYMK

color model (which specifies a percent of each of four inks to place on a page) to define colors for print media. The colors we

see in electronic media are a result of the wavelengths of light that are emitted by the light source (e.g., the electron gun in a

CRT monitor or television). We typically use the RGB color model (which specifies an intensity of three colors of light) to

define colors for electronic media. Although we will go into more detail on these two systems of creating color in Part IX: Color

Spaces and Color Specifications, an important point from a design standpoint is that not all of the same colors can be created

with each color model. Hence, if you design your map for print media, using the CMYK system, and then translate those

colors into RGB, they may not look the same in both the printed and electronic maps. For this reason, it is very important to

test your colors in the final medium/a that you plan to use to avoid nasty surprises.

A second problem you may encounter when working with color and map production relates to designing a map in color and

then reproducing it in black-and-white. This may occur in a print media context (e.g., when a color map gets photocopied on a

black-and-white photocopier), or an electronic media context (e.g., when a map designed in color for display on the Internet

gets viewed by a map reader with a web-enabled cell phone that only has a monochrome display). If you know that your color

map may be commonly reproduced in black-and-white, you may choose to adjust your color design so that important features

do not become lost in the translation, or create a separate black-and-white version of the map (see Figure 22).

Figure 22. In the top left map, different tree types are symbolized using different color hues. As you can see in the top right map, if thismap is photocopied, it will be very difficult to tell most classes of trees apart. However, by using shape and lightness differences insteadof color hues (bottom map), we can redesign the map so that the map reader can easily differentiate all five classes of trees.









‹ Part IV: Production Equipment up Part VI: Objects v s. Fields (and Vector v s. Raster) ›



MacEachren, Alan M. (1994). Some Truth with Maps: A Primer on Symbolization and design. Washington D.C.:

Association of American Geographers, p. 101-112.

4/19/12 Part VI: Objects vs. Fields (and Vector vs. Raster) | GEOG 486: Cartography and Visualization


Navigation

login

Start Here

Course Orientation

Resources

Course Home Page

Program Home Page

Syllabus


ANGEL

Library Resources

Help

Course Outline


Checklist



















Capstone Project


Lesson 1

Lesson 2

Lesson 3

Lesson 4

Lesson 5

Part VI: Objects vs. Fields (and Vector vs. Raster)


Having taken a GIS class or two, most of you have probably heard the terms vector and raster before. Here we will review

these types of data models and talk about why you as cartographers should be interested in them.

Since the early days of GIS, researchers have been talking about and debating the relative merits of different ways of thinking

about (i.e. conceptualizing) and representing geography in the computer. In the scientific literature, this endeavor is known as

creating an ontology of geographical phenomena. Ontology is a branch of metaphysics that is concerned with questions

about being or existence. GIScientists have identified two main ontologies of geographic phenomena: one is object-based,

the other is field-based.

An object-based ontology describes the world as a space that is filled with discrete, identifiable units (i.e., objects) that have

some sort of spatial reference, usually in the form of geographic coordinates. For example, some objects you might find in this

space could include: houses, factories, roads, rivers, lakes, or pollution plumes. A field-based ontology, on the other hand,

describes the world as a collection of spatial distributions of phenomena. In other words, for a particular attribute or theme we

are interested in (e.g., elevation or temperature), we look at all of the locations in the particular space we are interested in

and determine how much of that attribute or what category of that attribute is there. In this world-view, you might think of

location as being an independent variable, and the attribute of interest as being a dependent variable (Worboys, 1995). As

GIScientists, we are not usually really worried about whether some phenomenon (e.g., a mountain or lake) exists, but in how

best to describe that phenomenon using numbers in a computer. A vector data structure is a computer implementation of an

object-based ontology, while a raster data structure is a field-based implementation.

To review the basics, the data in a vector data structure are at the most basic level a collection of points with geographic

coordinates. We can represent objects as points, lines (a collection of points) and areas (a closed collection of points) (see

Figure 23). Each element in this space is discrete and homogenous (see Figure 24). Some advantages of the vector data

structure are that file sizes are generally small (but they increase with an increasing number of features that are in the

space), we can be quite precise in defining objects (i.e., we can define them at a high-spatial resolution), and that we can

store multiple attributes with each object. However, because vector data structures are composed of homogenous objects, we

do not have any information about the variation within an object. This may or may not be important in the context of your

problem. Take the case of temperature. Variation within an object may not be important when you need to consider an object

such as factory, because it is likely to be the same throughout the factory. However, variation within an object might be very

important in the case of a river if the river is warmer downstream of a factory than upstream, because the factory has

discharged warm wastewater into the river.

Figure 23. Example of vector data.



Lesson 6

Lesson 7

Lesson 8

Capstone Project

Figure 24. Two frames (the first and last) of an animation showing the construction of a vector representation of a reservoir and highway (animation courtesy of David DiBiase).

To download and view the animation file in a separate Microsoft Media Player window, follow this link to the vector.avi

file (1.6 Mb)

The raster data structure uses a regular grid to cover space, and records an attribute value for each location of the grid cell

(see Figure 25). This data structure is continuous; each location in space has a value assigned to it (although that value may

be 0). Generally, raster data file sizes are larger than those of vector files, because they store information about every point

in space, not just those points where there is an object related to the phenomenon the data are representing. Raster data file

size is also dependent upon the resolution of the data (i.e. the precision with which the phenomenon of interest can be

described). Data that are captured at higher spatial resolutions result in higher file sizes (see Figure 26). Although objects

are not explicitly represented in raster data, humans can identify them if there are abrupt changes in the value of the

represented attribute within the space.

Figure 25. Example of raster data.

Figure 26. Two frames (the first and last) of an animation showing the construction of a raster representation of a reservoir and highway (animation courtesy of David DiBiase).

To download and view the animation file in a separate Microsoft Media Player window, follow this link to the raster.avi

file (1.6 Mb)

So why should cartographers be concerned with how data are represented in a GIS? Aside from matters that influence the

content of the map (e.g., are the input data available at the proper spatial resolution for the particular map purpose?), there

are two important reasons: there two types of map output formats (vector and raster), and the format the data are in can

influence how the map output looks. We will discuss each of these topics in more detail in Part VIII: Exporting a Map and in









‹ Part V: Print and Electronic Media up Part VII: Print/Display Resolution ›

Part VII: Print/Display Resolution.



Cova, T. J. and M. F. Goodchild. (2002). "Extending geographical representation to include fields of spatial

objects." International Journal of Geographical Information Science. 16(6), p. 509-532.

Smith, B. and D. M. Mark. (2003). "Do mountains exist? Towards an ontology of landforms."Environment and

Planning B: Planning and Design. 30(5), p. 411-427.

Worboys, M. (1995) GIS: A Computing Perspective. New York: Francis & Taylor. Chapter 4, p. 145-179

4/19/12 Part VII: Print/Display Resolution | GEOG 486: Cartography and Visualization


Navigation

login

Start Here

Course Orientation

Resources

Course Home Page

Program Home Page

Syllabus


ANGEL

Library Resources

Help

Course Outline


Checklist



















Capstone Project


Lesson 1

Lesson 2

Lesson 3

Lesson 4

Lesson 5

Part VII: Print/Display Resolution


In Part VI: Objects vs. Fields (and Vector vs. Raster), we mentioned that the export format's data model can have an impact

upon the map's appearance. In this part, we address the issue of print and/or display resolution in the context of both vector

and raster graphics.

The appearance of raster graphics is highly dependent upon the resolution they are exported at because they produce a

pixel-by-pixel rendition of the image, and a higher resolution implies that the image has more pixels. One consequence of this

resolution dependence is that text and linework can look jagged if the image is exported at a coarse resolution. Exporting the

image at a higher resolution will improve the appearance of these features, but this improvement comes at a price: much

larger file sizes (see Figure 27). Some raster graphics formats use compression algorithms to reduce file sizes, such as

JPEG, an image format that is commonly used on the Web. JPEG uses a lossy compression algorithm, which means that

some of the data are lost during the compression process (i.e., if you imported the JPEG into a GIS, you would not be able to

recover all of the original data). The resolution you choose to export your map at will be influenced by the context that the

map will be viewed in. If you are going to electronically disseminate your map (e.g., on the Internet or via e-mail), file size will

be very important, so you may choose to sacrifice some image quality for the smaller file size or to use a format that employs

lossy compression (you will want to make sure that all text and fine linework are legible at this lower resolution). However, if

you are sending your map to the printer, you will want to give them the a file with the best possible image quality — that

12,000 dpi print quality from the offset printer will go to waste on a map that has been exported at 300 dpi!



Lesson 6

Lesson 7

Lesson 8

Capstone Project

Figure 27. Comparison of maps designed for different resolutions. The top map was designed for high resolution output (>300 dpi). Themiddle map used the same design, but was exported at a relatively coarse resolution (screen resolution of 72 dpi). Notice how the typebreaks down and becomes unreadable at this lower resolution. The bottom map was redesigned for export at low resolutions; the maindesign change is the use of larger type.

Vector graphics, on the other hand, are resolution-independent. In other words, you can enlarge or shrink the graphic objects

without losing any detail or clarity. This is an advantage if your map contains lots of type or linework that needs to look sharp.

Vector graphics files sizes are generally much smaller than raster images. However, if your map integrates both raster and

vector data (e.g., a satellite image overlaid with roads), exporting it in some vector formats may cause the raster data to look

pixellated. One solution to this problem is to use a format that can represent both vector and raster data, such as the Adobe









‹ Part VI: Objects v s. Fields (and Vector v s. Raster) up Part VIII: Exporting a Map ›

PDF format. This format has an added advantage (compared with many other vector graphics file formats) that it can be

easily viewed over the Internet.

4/19/12 Part VIII: Exporting a Map | GEOG 486: Cartography and Visualization


Navigation

login

Start Here

Course Orientation

Resources

Course Home Page

Program Home Page

Syllabus


ANGEL

Library Resources

Help

Course Outline


Checklist



















Capstone Project


Lesson 1

Lesson 2

Lesson 3

Lesson 4

Lesson 5

Part VIII: Exporting a Map


As you may recall from Part VI: Objects vs. Fields (and Vector vs. Raster), we mentioned that map output formats include both

raster and vector files. Here, we introduce you to some common export file formats.

Vector Formats

EMF (Enhanced Metafile): This format is one of the native file formats used by Windows for copy-paste operations. For this

reason, it's a good format to choose if your map needs to be imported into a Microsoft application. However, because it's a

Windows file format, it will cause problems for people who work with Macs. One problem you may find with this format is font

substitution: if the computer you view the image on does not have the font that was is in the file, the computer will substitute

another font.

AI (Adobe Illustrator): This format is the native format for the Adobe Illustrator software package and is a useful export

format for times when you need to carry out additional pre-press operations that your GIS software cannot perform (e.g,.

exchanging TrueType fonts with PostScript fonts).

EPS (Encapsulated Postscript): This is a common publishing industry format (also created by Adobe) and may be the only

format your pre-press shop or printer can deal with. The quality of this file format is so high that it is quite common for EPS

files to be imaged to film or the printing plate. The data in this format are actually stored as a series of PostScript printing

language commands that the PostScript device then interprets. This format, like PDF can deal with both vector and raster

image formats, but will not perform well on (if at all) on a non-PostScript printer.

PDF (Portable Document Format): PDF files are built on the same technology as EPS files (the PostScript printing

language commands). Although it does not offer all of the features that are needed for offset printing and that are included in

the EPS format, they still offer very good print quality (quite adequate for laserjet or inkjet printers), and they can be

distributed and viewed directly over the Internet. This format is a very good option for when you need a relatively small

number of copies of your map and do not want to spend the money to get them professionally printed.

Raster Formats

TIFF (Tagged Image File Format): TIFF is a high-quality raster graphics format that is commonly used in the printing

industry. It provides support for color in both print and electronic media (i.e., in the CMYK and RGB color models) and uses a

lossless compression algorithm (i.e., you can recover all of the data after uncompression). One drawback to this format is its

relatively large file size (compared with the highly compressed raster image formats commonly used on the Internet).

JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group): This format was specifically designed for storing photographs and achieves

substantial file size compression (up to 25:1) by permanently removing some of the data from the image (i.e., it uses a lossy

compression algorithm). It is best used on continuous tone images (i.e., images that don't have large areas of flat color),

because it is easier to trick your eyes into not noticing the data that were thrown away in a continuous tone image. The visual

quality of a JPEG can be affected by the 'quality' setting that was used when the image was exported. Choosing medium

rather than maximum for this setting can result in the introduction of speckled artifacts in areas of flat color (see Figure 28).



Lesson 6

Lesson 7

Lesson 8

Capstone Project

Figure 28. Both images in this figure are were exported as a JPEG. The image on the top was exported with the low quality setting andthe image on the bottom with the maximum quality setting. Notice the speckled artifacts around the point symbols and type in the lowquality image.

GIF (Graphics Interchange Format): The GIF format is best suited for displaying images with large areas of flat color

(which is often the case with maps!). Like TIFF, this format uses a lossless compression algorithm, but because GIF images

are limited to 256 colors, GIF images generally achieve a much higher level of compression than TIFF images. This may be a

better choice than JPEG for displaying most maps on the Internet. One other Internet advantage that this file format has is

that it supports interlacing. With interlacing, the image is not drawn sequentially from top to bottom, but by drawing the even

lines first and then the odd rows. This allows the viewer to interpret (at least some of) the image before it is fully drawn, which

may be important for Internet users with slow connections.

BMP (Bitmap): The BMP format is one of the oldest raster image formats. Before the advent of color monitors, the file format

contained a grid of pixels that had one of two values: on or off (e.g., black or white). With the advent of high color depths,

such as 24 bit color, file sizes have grown greatly. Although the BMP format itself is not compressed, graphics programs

provide support for simple compression algorithms. One limitation of this format is that it only provides support for color in

electronic media (RGB).

A final topic related to raster file formats that is worth mentioning is anti-aliasing. Anti-aliasing is a way of making curves

(whether they are a part of text or other linework) look smoother in raster images. The method does this by substituting

shades of gray in some areas of the curve (see Figure 29). One drawback to using this method is that anti-aliased images will

look fuzzy when they are printed.









‹ Part VII: Print/Display Resolution up Part IX: Color Spaces and Specification ›

Figure 29. Anti-aliased type.



Rado, D. and McGhie, J. (2003). "Choosing graphics formats." http://www.mvps.org/word/FAQs/DrwGrphcs

4/19/12 Part X: Output Specifications | GEOG 486: Cartography and Visualization


Navigation

login

Start Here

Course Orientation

Resources

Course Home Page

Program Home Page

Syllabus


ANGEL

Library Resources

Help

Course Outline


Checklist



















Capstone Project


Lesson 1

Lesson 2

Lesson 3

Lesson 4

Lesson 5

‹ Part IX: Color Spaces and Specification up Lesson 1 Deliv erables ›

Part X: Output Specifications


Described simply, output specifications are the design constraints that you as a cartographer have to work within when

designing your map. These constraints may be imposed upon you from outside (e.g., when the graphic designer who is

creating the statistical graphics that will be integrated with text and your maps in a report decides that you have to use a

particular color in your 1-color map) or they may be dictated by costs (e.g., your budget will only allow you to print in black-

and-white rather than process color). Regardless of where the constraints come from, it is important to understand what they

are before you start the design process. This will allow you to spend less time redesigning your map. You may find that when

your boss asks you to produce a map on a particular topic, s/he will not provide you with a list of output specifications. It is

your responsibility to ask questions that will give you this information, as your 'client' (e.g., your boss or the eventual map

readers) may not know what you need to know to create an effective map.

It may be helpful to draw up a checklist of questions to ask. Here, we provide you with a list of some of the constraints that you

may need to be aware of:

Map media (e.g., print, electronic, or both)

Map production equipment (e.g. will your map be professionally printed or photocopied?)

Requested file format

Color or black-and-white

Process color and/or spot color

Do you need to use Web-safe colors?

Page size (or image size for electronic media)

Margins

Resolution (especially for electronic media)

Audience constraints

What type of devices will the map be viewed on (e.g., PDA/cell phone or computer)?

Will your audience have special needs (e.g., color vision impairment or low vision)?

4/19/12 Part X: Output Specifications | GEOG 486: Cartography and Visualization








Lesson 6

Lesson 7

Lesson 8

Capstone Project

4/19/12 Lesson 1: Visual Thinking and Visual Communication | GEOG 486: Cartography and Visualization

1/2https://www.e-education.psu.edu/geog486/l1.html

Navigation

login

Start Here

Course Orientation

Resources

Course Home Page

Program Home Page

Syllabus


ANGEL

Library Resources

Help

Course Outline


Checklist



















Capstone Project


Lesson 1

Lesson 2

Lesson 3

Lesson 4

Lesson 5

‹ GEOG 486 up Checklist ›

Lesson 1: Visual Thinking and Visual Communication


Lesson 1 is somewhat different from the other lessons in the course. Generally, each lesson guides you through a project or

scenario, highlighting topical Concept Galleries along the way. In this first lesson we take the opposite tact - you will find

readings illustrated with figures and examples. At the end of the lesson, you are asked to find two maps and complete a

writing assignment discussing the maps with regard to this lesson. See the lesson 1 deliverables page for details.

A. Goals

As you read through the lesson, think of these questions:

What are visual thinking and communication? How can map design support these activities?

How does map purpose and audience influence map design?

What influence does media (e.g. print, electronic) have on design choices?

What is the relationship between color specification and different output media?

Given different map projects, what production equipment is needed?

B. Project Overview

As described above, the project for this lesson is finding two maps and a writing assignment. Look at the end of the lesson for

specifics.

Questions?

If you have any questions now or at any point during this week, please feel free to post them to the Lesson 1 Discussion

Forum. (To access the forums, return to ANGEL via the ANGEL link in the Resources menu. Once in ANGEL, you can

navigate to the Communicate tab and then scroll down to the Discussion Forums section.) While you are there, feel free to

post your own responses if you, too, are able to help out a classmate.

Checklist

Part I: Visual Communication


Part III: Map Purpose and Audience

Part IV: Production Equipment

Part V: Print and Electronic Media

Part VI: Objects vs. Fields (and Vector vs. Raster)

Part VII: Print/Display Resolution

Part VIII: Exporting a Map

Part IX: Color Spaces and Specification

Part X: Output Specifications


4/19/12 Lesson 1: Visual Thinking and Visual Communication | GEOG 486: Cartography and Visualization

2/2https://www.e-education.psu.edu/geog486/l1.html







Lesson 6

Lesson 7

Lesson 8

Capstone Project

arcgis outline

Documents