mapping systems: information & disinformation

SYSTEMSMAPPING

I N F O R M A T I O N+ D I S I N F O R M A T I O N

1. Where am I?

2. Where do I want to go?

3. How do I get there?

Akerman, J. R. & Karrow, R. W., Jr. (2007). Maps: Finding Our Place in the World.

A map answers the following questions:

M A P P I N G C O N C E P T SPURPOSE

Characterization related to both selection + scale

Refers to need to modify depiction of a feature for the sake of clarity + legibility

Usually involves simplification

M A P P I N G C O N C E P T SGENERALIZATIONAkerman, J. R. & Karrow, R. W., Jr. (2007). Maps: Finding Our Place in the World.

Internal representation of perceived environmental features or objects + spatial relations among them

Necessary for human navigation, but do not need to be accurate renderings of the real world

Golledge, R. G. (1999). Human Wayfinding and Cognitive Maps.

May be fragmented, distorted, and irregular — a result of difficulties experienced in mentally integrating different routes into networked structures

M A P P I N G C O N C E P T SCOGNITIVE MAPPING

LONDON TUBE MAP

Orientation taskThe task of matching the reality to the map

User must find something which can be uniquely matched between the map + the actual scene — landmark “footprint” should have a direction

Davies, C. (2005). Maps Beyond Diagrams: Real-World Spatial Orientation.

Orientation task is harder if the map is not aligned to the direction that the user is facing

Werner, S., & Long, P. (2003). Cognition Meets Le Corbusier: Cognitive Principles of Architectural Design.

M A P P I N G C O N C E P T SMAP ORIENTATION

UK

MO

TOR

WA

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AP

— R

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NO

RTH

UK

MO

TOR

WA

Y M

AP

— RO

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M A P C O N C E P T SPSYCHOGEOGRAPY

Invented in 1950s by Situationists Ivan Chtcheglov, Guy Debord + Asger Jorn

Navigation based on emotional response to surroundings

Can provide level of familiarity with envi-ronment not normally found in conventional navigation

Chtcheglov, Ivan. (1953). Formulary for a New Urbanism.

Traditionally, the simplest way for humans to represent a route

Understood by virtually all cultures and needs no scale, orientation, or frame of reference

Golledge, R. G. (1999). Human Wayfinding and Cognitive Maps.Davies, C. (2005). Maps Beyond Diagrams: Real-World Spatial Orientation.

Usually oriented with travel from bottom of page to top — “pointed in direction of travel”

M A P T Y P E SSTRIP MAP

JAP

AN

ES

E S

TRIP

MA

P

Designed for maritime navigation

Serious distortion from projecting spher-ical object (the Earth) onto a f lat surface

Distortion particularly high at poles

Wildbur, P., & Burke, M. (1998). Information Graphics: Innovative Solutions in Contemporary Design.

M A P T Y P E SMERCATOR PROJECTION

MERCATOR PROJECTION, 1900

Developed in 1967 by non-cartographer Arno Peters, a German-born historian + film-maker with a PhD in political propaganda

Claims to be a more accurate depiction of the relative size of nations, particularly those in the developing world

Peters denounced Mercator projection as “cartographic imperialism”

Wildbur, P., & Burke, M. (1998). Information Graphics: Innovative Solutions in Contemporary Design.

Based on cylindrical projection first described in 1855 by James Gall, a Scottish clergyman

M A P T Y P E SPETERS PROJECTION

PETERS PROJECTION, 2004

India + Pakistan both claim province of Kashmir

Official Indian government maps show Kashmir as part of India, while official Pakistani maps show it as part of Pakistan

Monmonier, M. S, (1996). How to Lie with Maps (2nd ed.)

M A P S A S P R O P A G A N D AKASHMIR

IRA

QI M

ISS

ILE

CA

PA

BIL

ITY

W

ashi

ngto

n P

ost

IRAQ WAR, 2003Washington Post

Mapped results of 2004 US election were misleading because they general-ized voting patterns a the state level

Gave impression of a huge Republican majority

Geographic map made no allowances for population density

Baer, K. (2008). Information Design Workbook.

Akerman, J. R. & Karrow, R. W., Jr. (2007). Maps: Finding Our Place in the World.

M A P S A S P R O P A G A N D AUS ELECTION 2004

PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION RESULTS PER STATE, 2004

GEOGRAPHIC ADJUSTED FOR POPULATION

Michael Gastner, Cosma Shalizi & Mark Newman

PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION RESULTS PER STATE, 2004Archie Tse, New York Times

Maps are used to support a particular political viewpoint

Akerman, J. R. & Karrow, R. W., Jr. (2007). Maps: Finding Our Place in the World.Monmonier, M. S, (1996). How to Lie with Maps (2nd ed.)

M A P S A S P R O P A G A N D AADVOCACY MAPS

COXCOMB GRAPH, 1857Florence Nightingale

HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY, 1888John F. Smith

DE

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AP

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, 188

9C

harle

s B

ooth

All maps have inherent bias

There is no such thing as a truly objective map

Despite this, mapping is among the most effective methods of presenting information in a visual manner

Virtually anything can be mapped!

I N F O R M A T I O N+ D I S I N F O R M A T I O N

CONCLUSION

Akerman, J. R. & Karrow, R. W., Jr. (2007). Maps: Finding Our Place in the World. Chi-cago: University of Chicago Press.

Baer, K. (2008). Information Design Work-book. Beverly: Rockport Publishers.

Black, J. (1997). Maps and politics. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Brewer, C. A. (2005). Designing better maps: A guide for GIS users (1st ed.). Redlands, CA: ESRI Press.

Brown, B., & Laurier, E. Maps and Journeys: An Ethno-methodological Investigation. Car-tographica, 40.3, 17-33.

Chtcheglov, I. (2006). Formulary for a New Urbanism. (K. Knabb, Trans.) Situationist In-ternational Anthology. Paris: Éditions Allia.

Clark, J. O. E. (Ed.). (2005). 100 maps : The science, art and politics of cartography throughout history. New York: Sterling Pub-lishing.

Davies, C. (2005). Maps Beyond Diagrams: Real-World Spatial Orientation. Southamp-ton: Ordnance Survey Research Labs.

Dorling, D., & Fairbairn, D. (1997). Mapping: Ways of representing the world. London: Longman.

Evamy, Michael (2003). World Without Words. New York: Watson-Guptill.

Golledge, R. G. (1999). Human Wayfinding and Cognitive Maps. Wayfinding Behavior: Cognitive Mapping and Other Spatial Pro-cesses (R. Golledge, Ed.) Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 5-45.

I N F O R M A T I O N+ D I S I N F O R M A T I O N

REFERENCES

Institute for Information Design (2003). Information Design Source Book. Tokyo: Graphic-Sha Publishing.

Jeffrey, C. (2007). City maze. Design Week, 22(26), 20-21.

Klinghoffer, A. J. (2006). The power of pro-jections: How maps reflect global politics and history. Westport, Conn: Praeger Pub-lishers.

Lynch, K. (1960). The Image of the City. Cambridge: MIT Press.

MacEachren, A. M. (1994). Some truth with maps : A primer on symbolization and design. Washington, D.C: Association of American Geographers.

Monmonier, M. S. (1995). Drawing the line: Tales of maps and cartocontroversy (1st ed.). New York: H. Holt.

Monmonier, M. S. (1996). How to lie with maps (2nd ed.). Chicago: University of Chi-cago Press.

Montello, D. R. (2002). Cognitive Map-Design Research in the Twentieth Century: Theoretical and Empirical Approaches. Car-tography and Geographic Information Sci-ence, 29, 3, 283-304.

Noyes, L. (1980). The positioning of type on maps: the effect of surrounding material on word recognition time. Human Factors, 22, 353-360.

Phillips, R. J., Noyes, L. and Audley, R. J. (1977). The legibility of type on maps. Ergo-nomics, 20, 671-682.

I N F O R M A T I O N+ D I S I N F O R M A T I O N

REFERENCES

Phillips, R. J. and Noyes, L. (1977). Searching for names in two city street maps. Applied Ergonomics, 8, 73-77.

Phillips, R. J. (1979). Why is lower case bet-ter? Some data from a search task. Applied Ergonomics, 10, 211-214.

Phillips, R. J., Noyes, L. and Audley, R. J. (1978). Searching for names on maps. Carto-graphic Journal, 15, 72-77.

Phillips, R. J. (1989). Are maps different from other kinds of graphic information? Cartographic Journal, 26, 24-25.

Phillips, R. J. (1979). Making maps easy to read: a summary of research. Processing of Visible Language 1, Kolers, P. A., Wrolstad, M. E. and Bouma, H. (Eds.) New York: Plenum, 165-174.

Sadler, S. (1998). The Situationist City. Cam-bridge: MIT Press.

Spencer, H. (1968). The Visible Word: Prob-lems of Legibility. New York: Hastings House.

Whitehouse, R. (1999). The Uniqueness of Individual Perception. Information Design. Robert Jacobson. (Ed.) Cambridge: MIT Press.

Wildbur, P., & Burke, M. (1998). Information Graphics: Innovative Solutions in Contempo-rary Design. London: Thames and Hudson.

I N F O R M A T I O N+ D I S I N F O R M A T I O N

REFERENCES

MAPPING SYSTEMSCHRISTOPHER J. MOOREHEAD

February 2009