Visual Variables Organizing Data on Maps
Visual Variables Organizing Data on Maps
Jairo Rodriguez Corcoran College of Art + Design BFA Graphic Design
DEDICATION I dedicate my thesis work to my family and friends. A special feeling of gratitude to my loving mom, Gloria, whose words of encouragement and push for tenacity ring in my ears. My sister Vicky has never left my side and is very special to me. I also dedicate this thesis to my many friends who have supported me throughout the process. I will always appreciate all they have done, especially Gerry Rebach for all her love and support, Sarah Downie for all her love and many hours of proofreading, and Anna Machado for giving me the last push.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I wish to thank my committee members of my class for putting their best work everyday. A special thanks to Francheska Guerrero, my committee chairwoman, for her countless hours of encouraging, inspiring, and most of all patience throughout the entire process. Finally I would like to thank all the teachers and administrators in our school division that assisted me with with my work. Their willingness to help and to provide feedback made the process an enjoyable experience.
Humans have used maps as a tool for communication for about 8000 years. At first, maps were used for survival, as most instruments were back then. Maps served as a visual tool for humans to understand the world around them, representing the source of water or food, or showing more immediate events of danger, such as the position of enemy tribes or predators. This visual representation of space helped humans and society survive and become what we are today.
A map is a two dimensional object, a graphic representation of a space; but maps can also be three-dimensional like globes or have relief like clay tablets. With the invention of the computer, the democratization of information, and the desire of humans to understand their social dynamics and surroundings, maps have become platforms where complex data layers aim to communicate accurately the information displayed.
Since then, humans have used maps to show
This example shows the power of maps to allow us
and visualize millions of topics. One important
to visualize information in the space where we
example of this is described by Edward Tufte
live to better understand the world and inform
in his book The Visual Display of Quantitative
decision-making. In this case a disease was
Information. “An early and most worthy use of a
affecting London’s citizens back in the 1800, and
map to chart patterns of disease was the famous
the map visually revealed the problem.
dot map of Dr. John Snow, who plotted the location of deaths from cholera in central London for September 1854. Deaths were marked by dots and, in addition, the area’s eleven water pumps were located by crosses. Examining the scatter over the surface of the map, Snow observed that cholera occurred almost entirely among those who lived near (and drank from) the Broad Street water pump. He had the handle of the contaminated pump removed, ending the neighborhood epidemic which had taken more than 500 lives” (Tufte, Visual Display 24).
Location of deaths from cholera in central London September 1854. Dr. John Snow
“
Data maps have a curious history. It was not until the seventeenth century that the combination of cartographic and statistical skills required to construct the data map came together, fully 5,000 years after the first geographic maps were drawn on clay tablets. And many highly sophisticated geographic maps were reproduced centuries before the first map containing any statistical material was drawn” (Bertin 20).
A map is a visual representation of space. A map with data is a map that carries not only
“ Information is a series of correspondences observed within a finite set of variational
the geographical information but also one or
concepts of components. All the correspon-
more layers of information. In most cases this
dences must relate to an invariable common
information is reprecented through graphics,
ground, which we will use the term invariant.”
images, and typography. In both print (static), and digital (static and dynamic) platforms
Bertin provides several examples clarifying
bring different challenges in the organization
this concept in which he stresses that the
of the information. The understanding of
invariant is what cannot change in the map.
semiotics in graphics and Gestalt are fundamental
And the components are the facts that build
in the effectiveness of communication
up on the invariant. For example:
information on mapping.
“ Invariant – Working people (1960). Components different countries, three main employment
Maps are platforms for information. According
sectors.” (Bertin 18). Or in the Tufte example
to Jacques Bertin, in order to make a map a
described above, “Pionner Maps of Health
successful piece of information there are two
and Disease in England,” the invariant is the
important parts that have to be considered:
deaths from cholera in central London. The
first, the information that is going to be in the
components are the pumps and yards (Bertin).
map, and second, how that information is going to be displayed, the design. Information can be broken down in two parts: the invariant and the components.
Edward Rolf Tufte is an American statistician and professor emeritus of political science, statistics, and computer science at Yale University. He is noted for his writings on information design and as a pioneer in the field of data visualization.Tufte is an expert in the presentation of informational graphics such as charts and diagrams, and is a fellow of the American Statistical Association.
“
Excellence in statistical graphics consists of complex ideas communicated with clarity, precision, and efficiency. Graphical display should show the data, induce the viewer to think about the substance rather than about methodology, graphic design, the technology of graphics production, or something else, avoid distorting what the data have to say, make a large data set coherent� (Tufte, Visual Display 13).
Once the variant and the components have
Finally, the level of organization. Not all the
been selected, the next task to identify is the
components of the information involve the same
length of the components and the level of
intellectual approach. A component can be
organization of the components.
characterized as qualitatively ordered, or
“ The term ‘length of a component’ will be used
quantitatively ordered. First you consider the
to refer to the number of divisions that it
qualitative data, then the comparisons of ordered
enables us to identify. The full significance
components, and finally the groupings resulting
of this notion can be appreciated when one
from a quantitative component that are the basis
comes to realize that the number of categories
for the graphic processing of information. The
a person can grasp during the course of
visual variables must have a level of organization
perception is quite small. This means that the
at least equal to that of the components that
visual variables can produce only a limited
they represent (Bertin 46).
number of perceptible steps” (Bertin 33). Bertin refers to the way of quantifying what the
This direction or steps of organizing information
map is trying to communicate. For instance,
sets the basis to establish a system that can be
binary components have a length of two (sex,
interpreted in the intended way. This is the first
living, or deceased, a decision which is actual
layer of the system, the core. These systems
of potential, etc.). Age is often divided into three
organize information in a way that it can be easily
main categories: youth, adult, and elderly; as
understood. In the course of perception there
are the main employment sectors (agriculture,
are many factors that play an important role.
industry, tertiary). It’s important to identify these factors and quantify the length of those
Jacques Bertin was a French cartographer and theorist,
components, Bertin says.
published in 1967. This monumental work, based on his
known for his book Semiologie Graphique (Semiology of Graphics), experience as a cartographer and geographer, represents the first and widest intent to provide a theoretical foundation to information visualization.
Once those variables are identified, the next
Its also important to be aware of the syntactic,
contributes to meaning. Pragmatics encompasses
step is the definition of graphics. Bertin says
semantic and pragmatic. Per Wikipedia, syntactic
speech act theory, conversational implicature,
that in a map, all the elements need to be
is the study of meaning. It focuses on the relation
talk in interaction and other approaches to language
fully understood, not only what they symbolize
between signifiers, like words, phrases, signs, and
behavior in philosophy, sociology, linguistics
but also how they act within the space and
symbols, and what they stand for, their denotation.
and anthropology. To help users to understand
with the rest of the elements. For this purpose
Also, the study of semantics, in linguistics, is the
a map’s content, the cartographer organizes
we will discuss the semiology of graphics and
study of the principle and processes by which
the map information as symbols and chooses a
Gestalt laws. Semiology is the study of signs
sentences are constructed in particular languag-
legend that complements this organization (Buard
and sign processes (semiosis), indication,
es. Pragmatic is a subfield of linguistics and
and Ruas 2009).
designation, likeness, analogy, metaphor,
semiotics which studies the ways in which context
symbolism, signification, and communication. Semiotics is closely related to the field of linguistics, which, for its part, studies the structure and meaning of language more specifically. However, as different from linguistics, semiotics also studies non-linguistic sign systems.
“
The durative code of the map operates on the scalar aspect of time. As spatial scale constitutes a relationship between the space of the map and the space of the world, temporal scale constitutes a relationship
Gestalt psychologists stipulate that perception
between the space of the map and the space of the world; that is, the
is the product of complex interactions among
map embraces this or that span of world time� (Denis Wood)
various stimuli. It is how we visually perceive the world.
Denis Wood is an artist, author, cartographer and a former professor of design at North Carolina State University. Born in 1945, Wood grew up in Cleveland, Ohio, receiving a BA in English from Western Reserve University.
VARIABLE OF GRAPHIC SYSTEMS To organize information on a map, the use of
in position but never signify a line or area on
graphic systems is inevitable. Graphic systems
the plane of the image. A line signifies a
have variables such as shape, size, orientation,
phenomenon on the plane, which has measurable
texture, color, and value; all have a dramatic
length. The signification is independent
impact on a map. These different variables have
of the length of the width and characteristics
infinite combinations and our eye will perceive
of the mark.
them in infinite ways.
When we design a map, the most basic elements that interact in the image are plane, line and point. Wassily Kandinsky explores the dynamics of those elements and writes
“
A central feature of Point and Line to Plane, accordingly, is the discussion of these forces. Kandinsky’s sources for this conception of visual phenomena lay in perceptual
about it in his book Point and Line to Plane.
psychology, particularly the Munich psychologist Theodor
Kandinsky says that a plane has limits; in some
Lipps’s concept of kinetic empathy and his eye-move-
cases it’s defined by its surrounding. It could
ment theory of perception” (Guggenheim Foundation, ets 54)
be empty space or changes on graphic representation (texture, value, color). A point represents a location on the plane. It can vary
Horizontale Wassily Wassilyevich Kandinsky
For Bertin, in a signifying space any visual variable appears as meaningful: for example, the introduction of color variation whose only aim is aesthetic or decorative will lead to confusion if the color differences do not correspond to a component. This same property precludes spontaneity in the perception of logarithmic diagrams.
There are other more subtle aspects that could lead to a miscommunication on a map. “The certainty of the uniformity of the plane entails a presumption of uniformity in the conventions adopted with the signifying space.� In a signifying space absence of signs signifies absence of phenomena. Within a visible frame of limit, the space signifies something at every point. Any absence of signal signifies absence of phenomenon. Wassily Wassilyevich Kandinsky was an influential Russian painter and art theorist. He is credited with painting the first purely abstract works. Born in Moscow, Kandinsky spent his childhood in Odessa.
“
Modernists as a school of design sought to push the historical landscape of ideas into the background, and to bring the design problem more into the foreground: to re-think the design solution as much as possible as if it were purely a response to the problem, rather than a response to history. The upside of modernist design is that it can achieve a new clarity and simplicity� (Tufte, Visual Display 33)
Massimo Vignelli is a designer who has worked in a number of areas ranging from package design to houseware design to furniture design to public signage to showroom design through Vignelli Associates, which he co-founded with his wife, Lella.
“ VALUE TEXTURE COLOR ORIENTATION SHAPE
When the eye combines a number of individual forms into groups, the following factors besides closeness may have a determining effect: value, texture, color, orientation, shape. If a number of characteristics are present simultaneously, the one that stands out most strongly guides the eye. Conflicts in perception occur if two characteristics are of roughly equal strength and compete with each other. On the other hand it is also possible for a number of coexisting distinguishing characteristics to augment each other’s effects so that the distinction between the groups become still clearer” (Zwimpfer 5).
Moritz Zwimpfer is a graphic designer in Basel. Since 1967 he has taught Colour and Graphic Design. He is the author of several books that talk about perseption.
Different sizes and shapes have a dramatic
heightening of color contrast: it enables forms to
impact on that plane. The size of a mark can
be more easily distinguished from each other.
call the eye to that specific place on the plane.
The phenomena discussed is (optical illusion)….
The graphics on the right, shows how marks
We see that an optical illusion is really an optical
affect the plane. There are several scenarios
accentuation” (Zwimpfer 7).
where Gestalt laws take place; closure, proximity and similarity. These scenarios need to be carefully analyzed to represent what is needed.
“ In the images on the right different sized circles mark“ take place on the map. The bigger
the circle “mark“ the larger the number of violent events towards journalists in Afganistan.
Different marks make the space different than the rest. It is important to analyze what shape and color and size best represent the information. Marks can be interpreted also as a numerical value going from small to big or vise versa. The eye tends to overestimate differences of form.
“ This can affect the size, direction and configuration of two-dimensional forms. This heightening of contrast serves the same purpose as the
Value
“ The ratio between the amount of black and white perceived on a given surface will be
called value” (Bertin 73). “A value variation is order, what ever the number of steps being constructed” (Bertin 73). It is an element that we interpret as a numeric form. Going from white to black every scale of gray would count as a numeric value. In the image on the right, a map shows changes in Hispanic population by city. Using five different values of yellow two of orange and three of purple, the map shows with clarity how the Hispanic population has changed over time.
Texture The map on the right illustrates how different textures create a dramatic effect on dividing the space. It also provides five different areas and generates a more complex result having a more active image full of energy and vibration. We can see a successful division of area by texture. In this map Developer Seed shows the areas where the company currently have projects. The texture highlights the area and makes the perception of it different making a separation with the rest of the gray areas.
“
Our sense of vision reacts with increased sensitivity to certain characteristics of forms. For instance, forms with a horizontal and vertical orientations receive special attention, each of these directions having a very different effect on the way a form is perceived. One of the basic phenomena of perception is the preference given to simple and regular form structures� (Bertin 9).
Color In this map, the separation by color is evident and successful. It illustrates jobs gained or lost since 2010, per Time magazine statistics. The scale of greens, the yellow, and the red, help to bring the message across effectively.
“
If a number of fields of color are located side by side on a surface, these colors often appear to be in different spatial planes, i.e., almost every color seems to be a different distance from the viewer. Warm colors (colors containing yellow) appear closer, while cold colors (colors containing blue) recede into the picture. This rule is only a very general one, for the spatial effect of areas of color can also be influenced by their shape and the relative amounts of the individual colors. . .with regard to the dimension of color saturation (strength) it can be said that more saturated color generally stands out more strongly than less saturated ones� (Zwimpfer 10).
Orientation
“ The orientation of lines coming from one side
to another is “the difference in angle between fields created by several parallel signs which constitutes the perceptible ‘stimulus’ for orientation variation” (Bertin 93).
In these maps, the orientation of the lines creates a clear division. They divide the map into five different areas and generatea more active and complex image, full of energy and vibration.
“
Lines that intersect generally have a three-dimensional effect. But frequently the illusion of an overlay in space is also created by forms that do not really overlap� (Bertin 11).
Shape Marks are very useful elements that should be used with moderation. Several marks can lead to confusing messages. The appropriate shape size, and number should be taken in to consideration. In this map, we can see how a circular shape repeats throughout the world map visualizing Social Networking in 2011.
“
A mark with a constant area can assume an infinite number of different shapes. This variation has unlimited length, and it is tempting to abuse it. Shape variation is only applicable for elementary reading. It serves to: 1. identify several similar, and therefore different, elements; and 2. facilitate external identification through shape symbolism� (Bertin 102).
Typography
“ The direction of reading is a visual habit had strongly influences perception.
An effective layering of information on a map is often difficult. All the
In the course of time, through the experience of reading, it deeply imprints itself
elements collected and laid out in a design will interact with each other.
upon our eyes not only when reading but also influences the pattern of our
To resolve issues of layering, most designers refer to Gestalt laws of
attention when looking at picture� (Zwimpfer 6) Massimo Vignelli refers to the inherited
grouping. Gestalt law is the ability to perceive coherent objects in the
information of the elements. In this case we talk about typography. This map is
natural context. According to Wolfgang Metzger (one of the most
resolved using typography. This kind of approach can be done when the direction
influential members of Gestalt psychology), the Gestalt law of grouping
of the map is expressive. Vignelli demonstrated a modern design in the subway
breaks down dynamics on a two-dimensional plane on proximity,
map of New York City.
closure, and similarity.
“
Type had evolved in the hands of master craftsmen through the parallel needs of the mechanics of cutting and setting metal type and the ease of reading printed matter, while the artistry of type also served as a vehicle for conveying affect. But in an increasingly fast-paced and fragmented industrial world, the historically derived tails and serifs of type were seen as unnecessary weight and drag. Sans-serif type offered a streamlined form that was neutral and unobtrusive, that did its job of communication while intruding as little as possible into the image� (Petter B. Lloyd with Mark Ovenden 43)
GESTALT LAWS OF GROUPING Proximity Proximity states that objects that are closer together will be seen as belonging together. The viewer will interpret this proximity as a relation that those objects have between them, therefore, as belonging to the same group. This allows for the grouping together of elements into larger sets, and reduces the need to process a larger number of maps.
The saloons on this map were ascertained by the reporter of the Christian Union by actual count. In this map we can see how the plane is divided by rectangles, within each rectangle there are circles that are next to each other. This similar shape and the proximity that they have are perceived as being of the same family. In the map on the right the dots on the map represent the meteorites but also their proximity that they have indicate what area has had more presence or meteorites.
“
Our usual contact with our environment is maintained through a network of different systems of signs. Visual perception can be regarded as a continuous process of decoding signs. The messages communicated by visual signs vary widely in their character: they range from the command of a traffic sign to the expression of feeling in the features of another person. The corresponding systems of signs and the way in with they are perceived differ just as widely� (Zwimpfer 18)
Closure Closure is about shapes that are interrupted by empty spaces or solids. The viewer perceives the figure but the shape of the figure is not fully completed. This reaction stems from our mind’s natural tendency to recognize patterns that are familiar to us and thus fill in any information that may be missing. To accomplish a continuance, the shape needs to be defined and have relevance in the composition. In this expressive map, closure is visible.
“
Our usual contact with our environment is maintained through a network of different systems of signs. Visual perception can be regarded as a continuous process of decoding signs. The messages communicated by visual signs vary widely in their character: they range from the command of a traffic sign to the expression of feeling in the features of another person. The corresponding systems of signs and the way in with they are perceived differ just as widely� (Zwimpfer 18).
“
Visual elements interact through position, direction, and space. Taken together or separately, these principles of interaction govern the placement of elements and influence our understanding of meaning� (Bowers 42).
Similarity Objects that share similar characteristics like color, value, texture or orientation will be seen as being part of the same group. This allows people to distinguish between adjacent and overlapping objects based on their visual texture and resemblance. Other stimuli that have different features are generally not perceived as part of the object. Our brain focuses on similarities to distinguish between objects, which may lay next to or overlap with each other based upon their visual similarities like texture. The map shows several variables at once with specificity, accuracy, and clarity. Designers can uses these visual variables to make groups of representation.
“
If a number of forms are situated side by side on a surface, the eye relates them to each other. If the forms are the same, the degree to which they relate to each other is determined by the distance between them. The closer together two forms are, the more intimately they seem to be linked. A number of forms join together to form a larger form, so that the individual form becomes part of a more important structure. Dots are formed into lines or surfaces� (Zwimpfer 56).
“
When the eye combines a number of individual forms into groups, the following factors besides closeness may have a determining effect: size, direction, form, and color. If a number of characteristics are present simultaneously, the eye is guided by the one that stands out most strongly. Conflicts in perception occur if two characteristics are of roughly equal strength and compete with each other. On the other hand it is also possible for a number of coexisting distinguishing characteristics to augment each other’s effects so that the distinction between the groups becomes still clearer” (Massironi 33).
Dynamic Maps Today, maps can be dynamic as well. A dynamic map is a map that has several layers of information (data), or a map that has one layer of information, but that information changes continuously. A dynamic map is accessed trough a computer, tablet or mobile phone; and in most cases is interactive. These additional characteristics bring additional challenges in the effectiveness of the communication of the information on the map. “One of the major objectives of geo-visualization design should be to display geographic information in a way that allows a user to promptly locate and easily decode the relevant information for any kind of spatial decision-making or visual analysis task. To fulfill these needs, it is necessary to establish a design methodology that respects principles of human visual information processing and of involved cognitive factors� (Olivier Swienty, et al. 13).
“
One of the basic functions of our perception is the endeavor to establish, as quickly as possible, a causal relation between forms and color that stand side by side on a surface. By drawing logical conclusions, individual forms are joined together into larger units. This is not generally possible without adding imaginary elements to those that are actually visible. It is ultimately through these additions that the picture as a whole comes to make sense� (Zwimpfer 15).
The Role of Relevance translated in hierarchy and cognition
The image on the right gives an example of an attention
(a group of mental processes that includes attention,
guiding geo-visualization design. The usage scenario for
memory, producing and understanding language, learning,
this example is a mobile user looking for coffee shops close
reasoning, problem solving) in geo-visualization are essential.
to automated teller machines (ATMs). On the left, it depicts
Per The Role of Relevance and Cognition in Attention-guiding
a geo-visualization design that is not filtered with respect to
Geo-visualization, the design objectives derived from general
the relevance of the represented points of interest. Although
graphical design principles should be:
these points of interest are of high saliency, they are too numerous and, since many of them are not relevant, it
Simplicity, reducing the visual complexity. Visual hierarchy, organizing and structuring the information into visual layers.
Conciseness, display the important information in a salient way needing few visual processing resources.
might be difficult for a user to find the relevant ones. In middle, shows a design that has been filtered based on the relevance to the usage context, i.e., only coffee shops and ATMs are represented on the display. However, the spatial reference and the focal information, i.e., the points of interest, are of about the same saliency. This could make the visual scanning process of a user less efficient.
“
The most extensive data maps, such as the cancer atlas and the count of the galaxies, place millions of bits of information on a single page before our eyes. No other method for the display of statistical information is so powerful� (Tufte 22)
In conclusion, maps are becoming more and more present in our lives. As society advances and produces more and more information (data), the need for a visual device that filters the information is more common than ever. Maps have the power to filter information. Maps help us understand the world.
The way humans perceive information plays a fundamental role, in the process of making a data map. The Gestalt law of order and semiology of graphics needs to be understood and explored in the design process. Also, in this process, there are three important parts: 1. The information. It is important to analyze the information to have clear what do we want to say with the map. 2. Organize the information. Identify the invariant and the components, the length of the components, and the level of organization of these components. 3. The design. The appropriate choice of graphic, color and typography are crucial in the effectiveness of the map.
Denis Wood Interview Denis Wood is an artist, author, cartographer and a former professor of Design at North Carolina State University. He is the author of multiple books about cartography, and his book, The Power of Maps, was considered radical when it was published in 1992. The Power of Maps has been a linchpin of the “new cartographies� in which maps are redefined as socially constructed arguments based upon consistent semiotic codes.
As an academic, you have analyzed maps and witnessed of the advances of technology. What are the benefits and liabilities of new technology in map-making?
I started my career making maps with ink, and when I went
stuff is, but certainly it has generated a huge, huge, huge
to graduate school, which is where I first took cartography, we
number of maps that never would have existed otherwise.
used quill pens and ink and bow compasses and so forth.
So I’m not sure what the benefits are, but certainly one of
And you know, the real problem with ink is that it smears and
the consequences is enormously larger numbers of maps.
you could be well into a map and suddenly smear something
Whether those are meaningful or beneficial in any way,
and it would either be impossible to get off, or it would be a
I have no way of saying. I’m not convinced that they actually
big pain to get it all off. New technology got rid of all that, it
are, I’m not convinced that they aren’t.
made it easy for people to make good looking maps, and I think that’s certainly one of the important things. I suppose with new technology we’re also talking about GIS and locational technologies. And as computers became personalized and people began to have personal computers, that made it possible for people to make really decent maps on their own computers. Otherwise, I’m not really sure what the benefit is, certainly as a result of these technological advances, we have millions, probably billions of more maps than we would have otherwise. All the online maps and all the maps on the mobile devices, that huge collection of maps, that’s all a tribute to these new technologies. I’m not sure how useful all that
Denis Wood’s Everything Sings: Maps for a Narrative Atlas.
The proliferation of mobile devices has had a dramatic impact in the way that people interact with maps. Today, we are exposed to maps on a daily basis in television, newspapers, magazines, and so on. Also maps like Google maps are constantly used by millions of people. Although we could say that today more people use maps, we can also say that it’s in a more superficial manner. Before Smart Phone, people interacted with printed maps less often, but in a more intimate way, folding and unfolding the maps, taking a closer look at the information, finding the area in search. There was a different interaction with the user. Now, it’s a brief contact, but we are more frequently exposed to maps. In your opinion, what are the most prominent challenges that this change in interaction brings to the mapmaker?
Most of those maps that people are using are the Google maps or the open street map, which is basically the same thing, and all they are is annotated. So, to a certain extent, this huge new proliferation of maps is really one Google map. And your idea that they are used superficially is 100% correct. They are consulted to find addresses basically. But maps have been growing throughtout the 20th century. They grew with each World War, after WWI there was a huge increase in the amount of maps, and after WWII, maps were far more common than they had been before that. With the spread of literacy, the spread of printing, and the spread of periodical magazines and newspapers, maps became quite common. So, maps were quite common even before the online revolution, but they served different functions. There were a lot of little maps in the want ads and advertisements that showed where businesses were located, maps in the news sections showing where a certain crime had been committed. And there’s plenty of maps like these online today, maps that show distribution of wealth and poverty, maps that talk about location of resources, maps that show political distributions. The challenges for the mapmaker are the same as they have always been-intentionality and clarity. You need to be clear about what you are saying, and say it in the most straightforward, direct way you can imagine. I don’t think
Denis Wood’s Everything Sings: Maps for a Narrative Atlas.
the challenges are particularly new.
As society becomes more complex, maps have become more present and necessary to filter information. Most people have faced a moment where they have to think about space and representation of space. For instance, giving directions to a tourist or mapping something for class. The person making the map goes through a design process of making decisions to make an image that represents what the person is trying to say. Based on your expertise, what aspects of designing maps are most important to teach in elementary school, middle schools and colleges, if any?
Little kids use maps frequently today, but, when I was in graduate school, there was a conviction on the part of educators that you couldn’t teach maps to elementary school kids, that they didn’t have the cognitive ability to deal with all the various abstractions that maps involve. There were researchers, however, that felt otherwise. They felt that kids could use map knowledge as early as the age of three, and they could certainly interact with comparatively sophisticated maps by the age of five. We know now that kids can handle these kinds of problems with great ease at those ages and they do so. I don’t know if we even need to teach kids to use maps anymore, it’s like asking if we need to teach kids typing. They all know how to keyboard at a young age, they are all using phones and sending text messages. When I was in high school, we weren’t expected to know how to use a keyboard, we took typing classes. And we had the same idea in the ‘60’s, that if kids were to use maps, they had to be taught to use them, that maps were arcane and difficult. It doesn’t seem to me that’s it’s something that you need to teach any longer. But we need to somehow instruct people on the properties that different projections convey. And that might be able to be taught fairly early on.
Denis Wood’s Everything Sings: Maps for a Narrative Atlas.
In your book Everything Sings, you showcase maps that tell a story of a specific place, like the map of downtown Raleigh, Forest,” where “ we can see the deforestation that has taken place there. Like other maps in this book, this is a powerful image that effectively brings across the message and tells a story. In the process of storytelling, is one map enough to be perceived as a complete piece of story? Or in most cases do a series of maps work best? When is a story told better through a series of maps than a single map?
Denis Wood’s Everything Sings: Maps for a Narrative Atlas.
With the massive reproduction of maps, do you think that there should be a more clear or defined set of signs for maps that could function like an alphabet, a structure similar to Otto Neurath’s Isotype?
I think it depends on the story. If you are telling a complicated
I know Isotype. Isotype is very interesting. When you look
story, maybe it’s easier to use a bunch of maps in sequence.
at Isotype maps, most of the content doesn’t have Isotype
If you are telling a comparatively simple story, no matter how
characteristics. Isotype is just to display information on
dramatic and how many data points it might have, maybe
the map surface. Isotype maps are not different than other
you can get away with a single map. Again, I don’t think there’s
maps.s Depending what you want to display, you have a
a rule, I think it depends on the story you want to tell.
set of possible signs that you can deploy and the signs are spoken signs or written signs and you arrange them to display the information in the most effective way.
Bibliography Albers, Josef. Interaction of Color. Unabridged text and selected plates - Revised edition. New Haven and London: Yale University Press 1975. Print. Bowers, John. Introduction to Two-Dimensional Designs: Understanding Form and Function. New York: John Weley & Sons, Inc. 1976. Print. Camp, D’Laine. Otto Neurath: The Language of The Global Polis. Belgium: Nai Publishing 2011. Print. Field, Kenneth. Mapping the London 2012 Olympics. The Cartographic Journal, Vol. 49, No. 3. August 2012: 281–296. The British Cartographic Society. Print. George, Patricia Conway. Mass Transit: Problem and Promise. Design Quarterly, No. 71: 3-39. Minneapolis: Walker Art Center 1968. Web. Hall Sean. This Means This, This Means That: A User’s Guide to Semiotics. London: Laurence King Publishing 2007. Print. Herdeg, Walter. Graphis Diagrams: The Graphic Visualization of Abstract Data. Graphis Press 1979. Print. Jenny, Bernhard, Tom Patterson, Lorenz Hurni. Graphical Design of World Map Projections. International Journal of Geographical Information Science, Vol. 24, No. 11. November 2010: 1687-1702. Print. Lankow, Jason, Josh Ritchie, Ross Crooks. Infographics: The Power of Visual Storytelling. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2012. Print. Woodward, David. Cartography and Design History: A Commentary. Design Issues, Vol. 2, No. 2: 69-71. Cambridge: The MIT Press 1985. Web. Lloyd, Petter B., Mark Ovenden. Vignelli Transit Maps. Rochester: RIT CARY Graphic Arts Press 2012. Print. Massironi, Manfredo. The Psychology of Graphic Images. Seeing, Drawing, Communicating. Translated by Nicola Bruno. New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Publishers 2001. Print. Metzger, Wolfgang. Laws of Seeing. Cambridge: The MIT Press 2006. Print.
Kandinsky: Russian and Bauhaus Years 1915-1933. New York: The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum 1983. Print. Tufte, Edward R. The Visual Display of Quantitative Information. 2nd Ed. Cheshire: Graphics Press 2001. Print. Tufte, Edward R. Envisioning Information. Cheshire: Graphics Press 1994. Print. Wood Denis. Rethinking The Power of Maps. New York, London: The Guilford Press 2010. Print. Wood Denis. Everything Sings:Maps For a Narrative Atlas. New York: Ira Glass 2011. Print. Zwimpfer, Moritz. 2D Visual Perception. Zurich: Verlag Niggli AG 1994. Print.
Visual Variables Organizing Data on Maps Exploration in maps. Washington D.C.
GRAPHIC REPRESENTATION OF DATA
VISUAL REPRESENTATION OF AN AREA
REPRESENTATION OF DATA IN MAPS
Dupont Circle sits at the intersection of five main thoroughfares in Washington, DC. Formerly known as Pacific Circle, the name was changed by Congress in 1882 in recognition of Samuel Francis Du Pont, who served as a rear admiral in the Civil War. A statue of Mr. Du Pont, sculpted by Launt Thompson, graced the center of the traffic circle from 1884 to 1917, when the Du Pont family relocated it to Rockford Park in Wilmington. The white marble fountain that lives in Dupont Circle today was designed by Henry Bacon and DanielChester French in 1920.
DuPont Circle
Dupont Circle
Logan Circle is a traffic circle and park in Washington, DC. While it was originally known as Iowa Circle, Congress changed the name in 1930 to honor John A. Logan, an Army Commander and Representative and Senator for the state of Illinois, who lived at 4 Logan Circle in 1885-86. A bronze equestrian statue honoring Mr. Logan, sculpted by Franklin Simmons, sits in the center of the traffic circle.
Expressive Maps, Data visualization Logan Circle, Washington, DC
Logan Circle Historic District
Sheridan Circle, a traffic circle in the Washington, DC neighborhood of Embassy Row, is ringed by the embassies of Pakistan and Romania, as well as the former Turkish chancery. In the center of Sheridan Circle sits an equestrian statue of its namesake, Philip Sheridan, designed by Gutzon Borglum.
Expressive Maps, Data visualization Sheridan Circle, Washington, DC
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Sherman Circle is a traffic circle in the Petworth neighborhood of Washington, DC, named in honor of General William Tecumseh Sherman. The circle is neighbored by Grant Circle, which is named for Ulysses S. Grant, the high-ranking general under whom Sherman served in the Civil War.Â
Expressive Maps, Data visualization Sherman Circle, Washington, DC
Washington Circle, named in honor of George Washington, is now a traffic circle, but during the Civil War, it was an instrumental location for the Union Army. The circle was first drawn on Pierre L’Enfant’s original map of the city in 1791. Since 1860, a bronze equestrian statue, sculpted by Clark Mills and depicting George Washington, has inhabited the circle.
Expressive Maps, Data visualization Washington Circle, Washington, DC
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