WHAT ALL GOOD MAPS SHOULD (MUST) HAVE

There are a wide variety of maps, all of which attempt to communicate some spatial information (data). No matter what information the map is communicating all maps must have the following elements. These are the "Golden Rules of Cartography." In general these are listed from the most important (always have a scale and orientation) to the things which are more flexible in whether or not a map needs them. Page numbers and chapters refer to Robinson et al. (1995)- on reserve in Wilson Library for Geog. 352.

1. A SCALE: a graphic bar scale, representative fraction, verbal scale, what ever, the reader must know how much space is represented on the map. (Chap. 6, p. 337)

2. ORIENTATION: which way is north, south, east, west. Most commonly given by a north arrow. May also be given by graticule/grid marks. By convention north should be towards the top of the page (thus many maps do not have north arrows), but the orientation must still be given for a proper map. Remember, north does not need to be at the top of the page. (Chap. 6, p. 337)

3. A TITLE: in large a large font, easily identifiable as the title of the map: what area is map showing and what is the map subject (theme). If the map is thematic, the theme should be included in the title. For example: Corn Production in Washington, 1990. The title is usually the largest font size of all lettering, however, should not dominate over the map itself. The title may or may not be boxed out. Title may be included in a figure caption, but for this class there are no figure captions. (pp. 335-336)

4. A BORDER: a border identifies exactly where the mapped area stops.
The border should be the thickest line on the map. A neat line (thin line just outside the border) will set the map off, making it look more visually appealing. Although it can also be distracting.
The border should come as close as possible to the edges of the mapped area. The distance between the map and the border should be the same on all sides (balanced).

5. Use a LEGEND if the map uses symbols or colors (including shades of gray and patterns). Maps do not need legends if no symbols or colors are used, and if it is clear what each line type (weight and pattern) represents. The legend does not need to be labelled "Legend". (p. 336, Chap. 25, 26)

6. Give the SOURCE OF DATA on thematic maps. The source of the basemap is usually not necessary (pp 443-445). Small-scale (global or continental scale) maps should have the projection indicated (Chap. 5).

7. An INSET MAP is needed if the area of the map is not easily recognizable or is of large scale (pp. 336-337). For example, if you map Whatcom County, there should be an inset map of Washington, showing the location of Whatcom County.

8. EFFECTIVE GRAPHICAL DESIGN is as important as effective sentence structure is to written text. Design refers to the planning and decision making processes involved in the visual display of the spatial data (Chap. 18, especially pp. 335-337, Chap. 21,22,24)
- neatly drawn
- degree of generalization (Chap. 24)
- symmetrically balanced (pp. 334-335), avoid crowding, do not leave large blank areas. You can achieve balance by moving the scale, north arrow, legend, inset map, source, title, and changing size of border.
- keep it simple, only include pertinent information, do not include any artistic graphics.

9. Use VISUAL HIERARCHY in lettering, line weights and shading (pp. 327-330, Chap. 21): more important features are typically larger and darker, less important/background information should be smaller and lighter. But do not "over weight" or "under weight" features.

10. Keep audience (who the map going to be used by) and client (who you are producing the map for) in mind, you may have to break some of the above rules.