Design of Maps

Making maps requires consideration, care, and thought. Neat work is critical to a well-designed map. Particularly in a geography class, maps are critical. Edit them as you would your papers. Each map consists of several parts:

• title -- at the top of the map indicate the kind of data mapped and by what geographical scale. Refer to the mapping instruction for the Third World map assignment.

• categorize the data -- the data by geographical unit will vary. Classify these data into several classes. Don't use too few -- because such a map will show no insightful patterns.  And, don't use too many (10 or more) -- because such a map shows too much detail and is confusing!
  For example, when you counted the number of clothing items in your room, you found you have only 1 or 2 items from some countries, from others 3 to 5 items, and from others 6 to 15 items. You have just grouped these data into three categories! Do this for all the other variables as well. You can use the same size categories or use different ones for each variable mapped, depending on what you think works best. Making maps is both a science and an art!

• legend: symbols on the map -- assign a symbol (circle, square, triangle, etc) for each kind of item mapped by country. For example, if the data are divided low, medium, and high; then use a small, medium, and large circle in the legend. Make the symbols sufficiently large that they show up well on the map. Don't use the same color for low values on all the variables -- reading the patterns on the map is very difficult, because everything green seems to be the same kinds of items, which they are not! Remember, the focus is on the map, not the legend. See examples in Goode's World Atlas, such as this sexist and exclusory worded map "Man-Made Fibers."

• location of symbols on the map -- symbols must be large enough that they can be readily read on the map, yet they can not be so large that in most cases the underlying countries can not be seen. For small countries with many symbols, create a box, within which the symbols are placed, and link the box with a line to the country. You might also want to shade or color the countries for which you have data -- use the same color!

• source -- at the bottom of the map cite the specific source of the data plotted (e.g., 1990 US Census of Population or my room in Towers Hall, UWEC, October 30, 1998.)

Created by Ingolf Vogeler on 30 March 1996; last revised on 07 March 2005.