In addition to the effective use of colors and symbols, a map that is well desig
In addition to the effective use of colors and symbols, a map that is well designed will significantly enhance its ability to relate pertinent spatial information to the viewer. The judicious use of map elements, typography/labels, and design principles will result in maps that minimize confusion and maximize interpretability. Furthermore, the use of these components must be guided by a keen understanding of the map’s purpose, intended audience, topic, scale, and production/reproduction method.
Map Elements
The beginning of this chapter discussed visual variables specific to the spatial features of a map. However, a map is composed of many more elements than just the spatial features, each of which contributes immensely to the interpretability and flow of the overall map. This section outlines the essential map elements that should be incorporated into a “complete” map. These elements are listed in the logical order in which they should be placed on the map.
The first feature that should be placed into the map layout is the frame line. This line is essentially a bordering box that surrounds all the map elements described hereafter. All of these map elements should be balanced within the frame line. To balance a map, ensure that neither large blank spaces nor jumbled masses of information are present within the map. Similar to frame lines are neat lines. Neat lines are border boxes that are placed around individual map elements. By definition, neat lines must occur within the frame line. Both frame lines and neat lines are typically thin, black-lined boxes, but they can be altered to match the specific aesthetics of an individual map.
The mapped area is the primary geographic component of the overall map. The mapped area contains all of the features and symbols used to represent the spatial phenomena being displayed. The mapped area is typically bordered with a neat line.
Insets can be thought of as secondary map areas, each encased within their neatline. These neat lines should be of different thickness or type than other line features on the map to adequately demarcate them from other map features. Insets often display the primary mapped area in relation to a larger area. For example, if the primary map shows the locales of national parks with a county, an inset displaying the location of that county within the larger state boundary may be included. Conversely, insets are also used to display areas related to the primary map, but that occurs at some far off locale. This type of inset is often used with maps of the United States whereby Alaska and Hawaii are placed as insets to a map of the contiguous United States. Finally, insets can be used to clarify areas where features would otherwise be overcrowded if restricted to the primary mapping area. If the county map of national parks contained four small, adjacent parks, an inset could be used to expand that jumbled portion of the map to show the exact spatial extent of each of the four parks. Thi