Other resource lists

See some of these lists for even more links on map design, as well as more technical and software-speficic resources.

• Resources list from Robin Tolochko.
• Geo how-to from Nathaniel Vaughn Kelso
• DUSPviz resources page
• Maptime resources
• Maptime Boston tutorials and resources
• MaptimeHRVA meeting links and notes

General mapping and visualization

• Cartography and Visualization course website, Penn State
• mapschool.io
• Unrequested Map Tips and part 2 by John Nelson
• DUSPViz, mostly by Mike Foster
• 39 studies about human perception in 30 minutes by Kennedy Elliott
• CartoTalk forum hosted by NACIS
• List of map-related blogs, publicly editable
• Cartographic Design notes and resources by Alexa Todd for MaptimePDX

Books

• Thematic Cartography and Geovisualization, Terry Slocum, Robert McMaster, Fritz Kessler, Hugh Howard. Comprehensive textbook on thematic mapping.
• Making Maps, Second Edition: A Visual Guide to Map Design for GIS, John Krygier and Denis Wood. A beginner-friendly overview of mapping concepts and principles.
• Elements of Cartography, Arthur Robinson, Joel Morrison, A Jon Kimerling, Stephen Guptill. A longtime standard cartography textbook.
• How to Lie With Maps, Mark Monmonier. A good guide to the biases and agendas in maps, and how to read maps critically.
• How Maps Work, Alan MacEachren. For the truly ambitious map nerd, a densely detailed book on how maps and our brains work together to form meaning.
• Semiology of Graphics, Jacques Bertin. A seminal work in cartography and information design, introducing the visual variables and much more on how graphical communication works.
• Cartographer’s Toolkit, Gretchen Peterson. Handy reference for color palettes, typography, and other elements of map design.
• Designed Maps: A Sourcebook for GIS Users, Cynthia Brewer. A guide to good map design using GIS.
• Web Cartography: Map Design for Interactive and Mobile Devices, Ian Muehlenhaus. One of the precious few texts on map design specifically for the interactive, digital, and mobile age.

What is a map? What is GIS? What is Cartography?

• Communicating Geographic Data: What is a Map?, Penn State Geog 160
• The Lost Art of Critical Map Reading by Mike Foster
• Map Purpose and Audience, Penn State Geog 486
• When Maps Shouldn’t Be Maps, Matthew Ericson

Types of maps

• Types of maps, Penn State Geog 486
• Choropleth Maps, Penn State Geog 486
• Graduated and Proportional Symbol Maps, Penn State Geog 486
• Dot Maps, Penn State Geog 486

General map design

• Design is Human by Daniel Huffman
• More Principles of Map Design by John Krygier
• Easy Steps to Better Maps by Mike Foster

Hierarchy

• Visual Hierarchy, Penn State Geog 486

Visual Variables

• Visual Variables - forthcoming overview paper by Robert Roth
• InfoVis: a semiotic perspective - slides mostly about visual variables, by Sheelagh Carpendale

Color

• ColorBrewer, Cindy Brewer + Axis Maps
• Using Color in Maps - handy guide compiled from work by John Krygier
• Map Color Resources
• Your Friendly Guide to Colors in Data Visualisation by Lisa Charlotte Rost
• Color Oracle, a color blindness simulator
• Adobe color wheel, a tool for generating color palettes
• Color Hex and Color Hex - Popular Palettes

Data Classification

• Classification, GIS wiki
• Telling the Truth, John Nelson
• Classification Schemes, Penn State Geog 486

Scale and generalization

• Generalisation of Map Data, Geographic Information Technology Trainling Alliance
• Map generalization exercise by David Woodward
• ScaleMaster - Flash-based interactive tool from some Penn State research about designing multiscale maps
• Zoom levels, pixel sizes, and scales, oh my - a bit about how scale works on web maps Gretchen Peterson
• Mapshaper, an online and command line tool for simplifying vector data by Matthew Bloch

Map projections

• Projection Wizard - a web tool to help select appropriate map projections, from Oregon State
• Coordinate Systems and Projections concept gallery, Penn State 486
• Projections and Coordinate Systems by Mike Foster for Maptime Boston
• Map projection reference by Bill Rankin, grouped by use cases
• Why Mercator - Tom MacWright explains why the Mercator projection is used for web maps
• Map projections and distortions, Hunter College
• The Wild World of Geodesy by Lyzi Diamond

Text

• Labeling and Text concept gallery, Penn State Geog 486
• Maps and Prose by Marty Elmer
• Practical Cartography: 8 Tips for Better Typography by Marty Elmer

Geographic phenomena and data

• The Nature of Geographic Information course from Penn State
• Map symbolization lecture notes by John Krygier includes examples of types of phenomena and how they can be represented.
• Levels of measurement from the Axis Maps guide
• The Nature of Geographic Data, lecture notes from an Oregon State course

Data formats

• Spatial Data Formats by Shaun Walbridge for Maptime Boston
• GIS file formats, Wikipedia
• More than you ever wanted to know about GeoJSON by Tom MacWright
• Introduction to Geographic Data Formats by Lyzi Diamond for Maptime

What is a web map?

• Web Maps 101, Maptime Boston
• Anatomy of a Web Map, Maptime SF
• Intro to Web Mapping, Maptime Detroit
• How web maps work, Mapbox
• Why tiled maps?, notes from a Penn State geography course
• How to Start Web Mapping? - message thread with a variety of suggestions for getting started in web mapping

When should a map be interactive?

• Why We Are Doing Fewer Interactives by Archie Tse, New York Times
• Making maps, part 1: Less interactivity by Brian Boyer
• Interactive maps: What we know and what we need to know by Robert Roth