Posted in 09 Map Symbolization on August 28, 2007 | 1 Comment »
What if there was a gap between mapped data and our perception of it?
Buried in the ArcGIS symbolization options for proportional symbol maps is a puzzling check box labeled Appearance Compensation (Flannery) that addresses one gap between perception and data symbolized on maps.
This check box is a vestige of academic cartography’s extensive engagement with psychophysics [...]
Posted in 09 Map Symbolization, Map History on August 21, 2007 | No Comments »
Dams, bulkheads, arches, ditches, flumes, outlet spreaders, outlet baffles, revetments, riprap, fence, gullies, borings, test pits, siphons, retaining walls, culverts, inlet transitions, jump structure, overfall, tree plantings, sheet erosion plantings, streams, lakes, terraces, ground water, water seepage, water limits, drains, percolators … the language of erosion and flood control in 1930s America.
The above symbols are [...]
Posted in 06 Map Layout, 07 Hierarchies, 08 Generalization & Classification, 09 Map Symbolization, 10 Type on Maps, 12 Finishing Your Map, Map Books on August 16, 2007 | 9 Comments »
Edward Tufte’s The Visual Display of Quantitative Information (1998, 2nd edition 2001) is a classic book, arguably his best, and certainly a key text in the field of information graphics (which encompasses cartography). I know some cartography courses use the book as a text.
I recall being inspired by the book as a neophyte cartographer back [...]
Posted in 01 What's A Map?, Map History on August 8, 2007 | 1 Comment »
Harvard’s Erwin Raisz (1893-196 was one of the 20th century’s preeminent cartographers (bio, bio, bio). Most people know of his landform maps, which are still in print. Raisz was also responsible for a series of atlases and hundreds of maps in books and academic articles.
In a 1937 article for the journal Isis entitled [...]
