Best Practices Web Cartography Design

1. What are the 5 cartographic design elements?
2. What is the most important design principle that cartographers utilize?
3. What are the 7 components that make a good map?
4. What are the three most critical design criteria that a cartographer must consider when preparing a map?

What are the 5 cartographic design elements?

Five primary design principles for cartography

Five of the main design principles are legibility, visual contrast, figure-ground organization, hierarchical organization, and balance.

What is the most important design principle that cartographers utilize?

By Aileen Buckley, Mapping Center Lead

Five of the main design principles are legibility, visual contrast, figure-ground, hierarchical organization, and balance. Together these form a system for seeing and understanding the relative importance of the content in the map and on the page.

What are the 7 components that make a good map?

Map Elements. Most maps contain the same common elements: main body, legend, title, scale and orientation indicators, inset map, and source notes. Not all are necessary or appropriate for every map, but all appear frequently enough that they're worth covering.

What are the three most critical design criteria that a cartographer must consider when preparing a map?

Most maps should have a clear and concise title, a notation on the scale (or if the map is not to scale), and, when needed for orientation, a north arrow.