Sources related to map design and geospatial visualization

Penn State, John A. Dutton e-Education Institute resources

Multiple Penn State courses have open educational online materials related to cartographic design, geospatial visualizations, and geospatial information. A select few are listed below to provide entry points of exploration to these materials

• Cartography and Visualization, GEOG 486, John A. Dutton e-Education Institute, College of Earth and Mineral Sciences, The Pennsylvania State University
• Mapping our Changing World, GEOG 160, John A. Dutton e-Education Institute, College of Earth and Mineral Sciences, The Pennsylvania State University

Esri References

• Esri Blog, Design principles for cartography, By Aileen Buckley (2011)

This Esri blog post provides guidance on cartographic design principles including visual contrast, legibility, figure-ground organization, hierarchical organization, and balance.

• Basic Principles of Cartographic Design, Video, Esri, from Esri International User Conference, Jorge Ruize Valdepena and Makram Murad-al-shaikh (2010)

• Additional Esri, ArcGIS Help regarding Map Design Elements
  • ArcGIS Help, What are symbols and styles?
  • ArcGIS Help, What is page layout?
  • ArcGIS Help, Map Elements
  • ArcGIS Help, Working with Legends
  • ArcGIS Help, Displaying Labels

Web Resources

• ColorBrewer 2.0 color advice for cartography
• GIS and Geospatial Data Tools, ACRL (Association of College and Research Libraries) TechConnect Blog