From Cartographer to Media Designer
A map’s design is essential to convey information effectively. Before we can design a map users can grasp intuitively, we must analyze their habits and perceptions. For example, symbols should be self-explanatory so that readers can interpret them with no more than a condensed legend to assist them, or better yet, without a legend altogether. They must be detailed, but not too delicate. They must match to create a harmonious image. Fonts must be easily legible, suitable to the topic, and clearly refer to their assigned objects. Often the limited space available on maps makes labeling a great challenge.
Colors must harmonize, yet each must be readily distinguishable. The closer a representation is to nature, the easier it is to grasp its contents. Today’s society is multicultural, so we can’t simply assume people share the same background and interpret symbols and colors in the same ways. Creating place, street, and POI indexes also requires considerable typographical skills. We have developed software programs that make it easy to create purely textual indexes from the maps. The rough layout can then be complemented in the layout program with page numbers, grid square labels, and further information such as postal codes and geographical coordinates. Often the space available for the index is limited, so the design effort requires painstaking attention to detail. Kartographie Huber has media designers on its team enabling us to offer flyers, brochures, and ZipFold® products.
A map’s design is essential to convey information effectively. Before we can design a map users can grasp intuitively, we must analyze their habits and perceptions. For example, symbols should be self-explanatory so that readers can interpret them with no more than a condensed legend to assist them, or better yet, without a legend altogether. They must be detailed, but not too delicate. They must match to create a harmonious image. Fonts must be easily legible, suitable to the topic, and clearly refer to their assigned objects. Often the limited space available on maps makes labeling a great challenge.
Colors must harmonize, yet each must be readily distinguishable. The closer a representation is to nature, the easier it is to grasp its contents. Today’s society is multicultural, so we can’t simply assume people share the same background and interpret symbols and colors in the same ways. Creating place, street, and POI indexes also requires considerable typographical skills. We have developed software programs that make it easy to create purely textual indexes from the maps. The rough layout can then be complemented in the layout program with page numbers, grid square labels, and further information such as postal codes and geographical coordinates. Often the space available for the index is limited, so the design effort requires painstaking attention to detail. Kartographie Huber has media designers on its team enabling us to offer flyers, brochures, and ZipFold® products.
