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In May 2022, ahead of the 90th anniversary of Beck's original London Underground map, Transport for London opened the new Elizabeth Line, and added it to the already-congested map. But is the map still fit for purpose? This paper references critiques of the recent iterations of the map, and undertakes a cartographic review that assesses its form and function. It includes new designs of the map, created by the author, that attempt to deal with the issues identified, as well as providing a wider critique. In exploring why cartographers and designers offer alternative, often unrequested, new designs of such classic maps, the paper will reflect upon the issue of whether holding on to an iconic map, with its flaws, is preferable to letting go of the past and designing a completely new map. Changing the map would be a brave move, but is one that this author, among others, feels is too pertinent an issue to continue to ignore. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A brief visual comparison between Henry Beck's map of the London Underground that was published in 1933 and its modern successor, issued by Transport for London (TfL) in 2022, reveals a loss of simplicity and clarity. Hence, it is important to question whether the map's current custodian is maintaining design efficacy and preserving Henry Beck's legacy. In this brief paper, I discuss how some aspects of the current design could result in usability issues, outline how I approached a re-design of the Tube map, and present a new version. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soviet military maps utilized a comprehensive cartographic symbology that was designed for mapping the globe at various scales, including thousands of towns and cities in street-level detail. This paper presents an analysis of the Soviet symbol specifications, as defined by the official cartographic production documents, and aims to offer some insights into how the challenges of mapping a global diversity of urban and natural environments were addressed. A further stage of the analysis examines a sample of 19 Soviet military city plans to evaluate the implementation of the official symbology specified in the production documents. This finds that barely half of this symbology was utilized and that new symbols were routinely created as improvised solutions. By comparing the theoretical context of the symbology with its real-world application the paper offers a critical appraisal of the versatility of the Soviet approach that may inform current and future global mapping initiatives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accessibility to tactile maps is limited due to their expensive and time-consuming development. Acceleration of their production requires standardized design guidelines that consider symbol design and production methods. In this paper, based on a review of research and best practice, we summarize knowledge on how to design tactile maps properly and provide a selection of highly legible, recommended symbols for the compilation of tactile maps. We also examine generalization constraints and other design parameters that are necessary for the standardization of tactile mapping. Finally, we explore differences in tactile map design depending upon the selected production method. Over the years, many useful guidelines have been developed although they remain unknown to the wider audience. There is still a long way to go in creating a global standard for the design of tactile maps. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The British Cartographic Society (BCS) was founded in 1963, shortly after the establishment of the International Cartographic Association (ICA). Brigadier Denys Thackwell played a key role in the creation of the BCS and also served as the second President of the ICA. The BCS aimed to advance cartographic education and promote the value of cartography as a distinct discipline. Over the years, cartography has undergone significant transformations, with the shift from analogue to digital production methods and the emergence of new technologies. The BCS continues to adapt to societal changes and strives to offer relevant benefits to its members, while recognizing the need for a greater diversity of maps. [Extracted from the article]

The appearance of late-Soviet military topographic maps was the outcome of a long series of reviews and revisions of preexisting map designs. These generated publicly-available normative documents and teaching manuals. While most topographic maps of Russia have been secret, these detailed supporting documents were openly published for public sale. These documents and manuals are used to describe the evolution of the designs of Soviet topographic maps at scales from 1:25,000 to 1:100,000 from the Revolutions of 1917 to the end of the Soviet Union in 1991. The nature of the maps inherited by the Soviet Union from Imperial Russia, and the prototype maps of the 1920s and 30s are described. These are contrasted with these with those of the Great Patriotic War and of the post-war period. The designs of Soviet topographic maps were continually changing, and great contrasts exist between maps made in the USSR at different dates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Modern electronic learning tools are a key component of informatization of education, the goal of which is the information technology proficiency as a competence of a future professional. Among the electronic learning tools for teaching geography and history, interactive cartographic guides play a significant role. Their creation requires the development of methodological approaches to their designing. In this article, we explain the essence of educational electronic cartographic guides, reveal the methodological aspects of their creation and describe the specifics of their content. We use the modern approaches to the formation of cartographic images. We also highlight the basic requirements for educational electronic cartographic guides, present the technological scheme of creation of a typical educational electronic guide, and give recommendations for their editorial preparation. Finally, we report our practical achievements in creating educational electronic cartographic guides and interactive maps for the study of geography and history in the modern Ukrainian school. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main focus of this paper is the effectiveness of dynamic point symbols in the presentation of quantitative data. Such symbols are of particular use in the design of animated maps and computer games. The authors examine three existing techniques of using dynamic point symbols to present quantitative data: blinking, pulsation, and rotation. The aim of the study is to compare their effectiveness with that of classical cartographic animation techniques. The results of the study show that in animated map design, dynamic point symbols might be used to present not only qualitative but also quantitative data with comparable effectiveness. The results may serve as the basis for designing dynamic point symbols to be as effective as the classical techniques used in animated cartography. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Crisis maps and visualizations utilized routinely by international agencies, humanitarian organizations, and non-governmental organizations for aid and relief activities commonly require complex sets of map symbols. However, effective map symbology for humanitarian relief purposes entails several challenges, including consideration of the following: (1) taxonomy development, (2) symbol design issues, (3) promulgation and sharing of map symbols, and (4) standardization of symbols within and among organizations. This paper discusses these key challenges to the design and use of crisis map symbology through a review of the cartographic literature as well as results collected from a survey targeted at humanitarian organizations from around the world. The survey was designed to gather information on current symbology design and use practices in order to understand common challenges. Survey results confirm agreement in the persistence of these four primary symbology challenges, especially the importance of intuitive symbol design. Respondents disagreed most about the adequacy of current crisis map symbology standards as well as the ease in which standards may be implemented within and across organizations. Survey results suggest the need for expert systems designed specifically for symbology design to support humanitarian relief activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research upholds the designer's mediatory role in the representation of places and hand drawing as a privileged tool. Given the current technological capacity for an automatic representation of the territory and landscape, one can question if the hand that draws the map is now anachronistic. The hypothesis of hybridism between the landscape observational drawing and the cartographic code is proposed, supported by the historical analysis of maps from the sixteenth century. The resultant anachronistic techniques are systematized as a design strategy, available for use by other authors, elsewhere. The techniques were tested by drawing landscapes and producing maps of places. It is concluded that the transference of anachronistic techniques is relevant in contemporary maps intended for touristic, cultural and commercial contexts, when wayfinding skills are not essential. As an open source, other authors may use the same strategy, applying different anachronistic techniques, based on their own subjectivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Maps are useful for providing location context and for graphically presenting spatial relationships. They are often used in PhD dissertations to show the location of a study area or to present scientific results. These maps have to tell their story without the PhD candidate being present. We searched for maps in 575 PhD dissertations, and reviewed 192 maps in 65 of these: 38% were created by PhD candidates, 48% were inserted and 14% were adapted from other sources. Maps prepared by PhD candidates had more design shortcomings than other maps. Nevertheless, the number of problems with maps from other sources suggests that guidelines for including them in a dissertation could be useful. Our results suggest that PhD candidates use GIS software to design maps, but that there is room for improvement to guide users towards appropriate design choices. The results will help to plan support services for PhD candidates at universities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Maps are good at representing geographic space, but texts have a stronger affordance of telling a story than maps. Telling stories is, however, important to make information more personal and to arrest the map user's attention. This paper contrasts the map and the text media in order to understand why texts are good at telling a story but conventional maps are not. We demonstrate that, by a modification of maps, appropriate structural features of the text media can be transferred to maps, which makes them more suitable for telling stories. This new concept for map design can lead to new interaction possibilities and provide insights into how maps can be used more effectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The news media play an important role in creating and disseminating geopolitical discourse. This paper explores the role of news maps in geopolitical discourse with reference to the potential super-power status of key states, specifically China and Russia as members of the BRIC group (Brazil, Russia, India and China), and in the case of Russia, the NORCs (Northern Rim Countries – Canada, Russia, several Scandinavian states and the USA). It also explores references to 'threats' to a stable interstate system (resource wars, regional instability, 'rouge states'). The paper argues that the concept of the state as 'power container' provides a key to understanding how maps operate as a significant element within geopolitical discourse. Maps provide spatial and geostrategic context to the narratives being deployed by news providers on such matters as China's projection of power. The paper is based on the findings of a comprehensive survey of maps in the UK 'quality press' in 2009. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses the use of the black line, dash and dot techniques in maps in commercial Dutch atlases from Theatrum Orbis Terrarum (1570) to Atlas Maior (1662). It is argued that the distinction between these three graphical means of expression became the basis for considering the nature of design rules for the next 400 years. In a departure from previous studies, this paper applies a combination of cartographic pragmatics and Gestalt theory with relation to the practical utilisation of graphical means of expression available in copperplate technology. While the importance of Gestalt theory and cartographic pragmatics has previously been highlighted in research papers and in textbooks, this study is the first to apply these two perspectives with relation to sixteenth and seventeenth century maps. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As maps become more common and popular in the media to illustrate large social and environmental problems such as climate change, cartographers who are given this task are searching for ways to present information to persuade readers to care and take action. Research has shown that simply presenting facts is often not enough for someone to take action to solve these types of socio-environmental problems; information must not only be presented accurately but also must connect with readers' emotions. Indeed, cartographers have increasingly been interested in understanding not just the cognitive implications of map design but also both the persuasive nature of and affective responses to map design. Here I present the term vividness, a term used in other communication domains to describe content which attracts attention, evokes emotion, and makes distant topics proximate to readers. While this term is new to the cartographic realm it provides a framework by which to evaluate maps for their persuasiveness based in both cognitive map design research conducted since the middle of the last century and newer research in cartography on maps and emotion. Through semi-structured interviews with experts I illustrate how cartographers create persuasive maps that align with the definition of vividness and I argue that vividness is composed of the following elements in maps: (1) visual salience, (2) visible change over time, (3) congruent colour use, (4) projection choice, (5) symbolization, (6) legend design, (7) layout, and (8) novel designs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the use of maps in different areas, a wide range of users exist who vary in their purposes and needs, according to their education level, age, cognitive level, and so on. Maps used by students in basic education need to be carefully designed and cartographers have important duties and responsibilities in designing maps according to the cognitive development levels of child users. An atlas design and production project entitled 'Atlas of Turkey for Elementary School' was carried out by the authors for the first stage of education. The aim of the study is to determine the contribution of the atlas to learning, reading and using maps. Thus, a questionnaire was applied to 494 students including 73 3rd grade (8–9 years) and 421 4th grade (9–10 years) students in four different schools. The results indicate that the use of the atlas increased the students' learning ability by an average of 40%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]