ABSTRACT
Mapping is about graphically representing information. Choices about colors, line weights, textures, photographs and orientation are issues of how to catalyze information and give it agency, not just how to make it look good. Crafting a map's line weight allows for pieces of information to come forward or recede, for different areas to have focus, or for different parts of a map's information structure to communicate differently than others. Existing maps are helpful working tools to, hold and organize information but should not be used as final graphics. This chapter reviews maps overlay Information to make comparisons between elements. Graphics inform how information is prioritized. Maps Can Only Communicate Their Dataset Without good data, one cannot produce a good map. As datasets become more complex, graphic techniques must be enhanced to communicate the range and breadth of information. Key information in the map is treated with graphic similarity, bringing different ideas together through similar colors, patterns and textures.
