ABSTRACT
Schematic depictions of spatial information play a crucial role in theory and design of wayfinding assistance. Despite their omnipresent employment and importance, work relating cognitive science research to the development of visual interfaces is not common. Moreover, research on ontologies provides new insights into the cognitively adequate depiction of locational spatial relations. Characteristically, conceptual elements are underspecific, hence, the question arises how they relate to graphical representations, that require the choice of one instantiation. The problem of transducing abstract mental concepts into prototypical graphical elements is answered by reporting on studies of externalizations in form of sketch map drawings. An ontology for pictorial route directions is a specification of basic graphical elements resulting from research on human conceptual structuring processes and on abstract mental concepts.
