What Are The Goals Of Map Design?Making a map that's meaningful is the main and final goal of cartography (map making). And it is map design which plays a crucial role in making successful cartography. The design process of map starts with the concern of the goal of the map besides the collection of related data. It is common to utilize secondary sources like census data can be made used for the purpose. For collecting relevant data for map field surveys, questionnaires study and even satellite imagery can be used by the cartographer.
A good and useful map has the power to suitably involve and engage the map readers. An information rich map shows various relationships with in the map. Showing many variables also gives good scope for comparison. And all this adds to the map's usefulness and relevance. To convey the message of the map, it is quite essential that the map creator designs the map in a way that greatly assists the map readers. A map creator usually keeps a number of goals in mind while designing the map. This includes, among others: Clarity, Order, Balance, Visual Contrast, Unity and Harmony, and Visual Hierarchy. A well-designed map must strive to achieve all these goals. Clarity could be both conceptual clarity and visual clarity. The map maker must know well about the various elements shown or displayed on the map(s). The various geographic features must be projected well with graphic symbols on the map. It needs to be remembered that a well thought out map may be badly executed provided the choice of symbols used is not good. Order refers to the sequence in which map readers view the various components of the given map. Balance means the overall layout of all the map elements. Since the subject area or body of the map is the primary focus of interest, it must have big space on the page. This is another matter that a map has many other things which can be cleverly manipulated for a balanced design. Visual contrast is meant to impart a clear focal point on the map. It must certainly be good to look at to hook the reader's eye. The most crucial map design related decision is to make sure that the relative importance of the various pieces of information displayed on the map is shown in the choice of symbolization. Besides, irrelevant and useless information should be removed completely. In addition, relevant information to the purpose of the map should be symbolized in a manner which makes it possible for more important information to be visually more striking and engaging. |