Attractive Vectormaps: A Call for Well-Arranged Webmaps

If a user has a choice between two maps he/she will often use the map with the 'better' design. This means a map, besides being readable, should be visually attractive, comparable with other maps and eventually deliver some tools to navigate and interact with a map. A further problem is that a lot of maps are not always self-explaining by default. SVG offers some possibility to make maps well designed. The readability is dependent on several factors: e g. the chosen colors, used fonts or minimal dimensions for symbols, line-styles and fill-patterns. The article is pointing to basic principles for designing visually attractive maps.

Dahinden, Tobias. SVG Open (2002). Design>Web Design>Graphic Design>Cartography

Empirical Evaluation of Concept Mapping: A Job Performance Aid for Writers    

The usefulness of concept mapping as a job performance aid for writers of technical documents was examined. Thirty-four writers were randomly assigned to one of two groups. The experimental group received 2 hours of training in the use of concept mapping. Both groups revised the same chapter from a computer manual, and an experienced technical editor blindly evaluated each revision. In part two of the study, revised texts were given to two groups of users. One group received a concept-mapped revision, while the other group received a text revised by a writer who had used conventional revision techniques. Readers' comprehension was tested and compared. Revision time was not significantly different between groups, and the editor's ratings of quality were not different. However, readers' comprehension was significantly higher with the concept-mapped versions. These results suggest that concept mapping is a useful revision tool for writers.

Crandell, Thomas L., Naomi A. Kleid and Candace Soderston. Technical Communication Online (1996). Articles>Writing>Assessment>Cartography

Geographic Information Systems  

Explains GIS (geographic information systems), which capture and display geographically referenced information) and suggests ways that technical communicators can become more involved with this technology.

Pettit Jones, Colleen. Intercom (2003). Articles>Information Design>Technical Illustration>Cartography

London Through Rose-Colored Graphics: Visual Rhetoric and Information Graphic Design in Charles Booth's Maps of London Poverty    

In this article, I examine a historical information graphic--Charles Booth's maps of London poverty (1889-1902)--to analyze the cultural basis of ideas of transparency and clarity in information graphics. I argue that Booth's maps derive their rhetorical power from contemporary visual culture as much as from their scientific authority. The visual rhetoric of the maps depended upon an ironic inversion of visual culture to make poverty seem a problem that could be addressed, rather than an insurmountable crisis. This visual rhetoric led directly to significant features of and concepts in western societies, including the poverty line and universal old-age pensions (social security).

Kimball, Miles A. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication (2006). Articles>Graphic Design>Visual Rhetoric>Cartography

A Map-Based Approach to a Content Inventory

A map-based approach to building a content inventory allows it to be a tool from the concept stages and throughout the life of the website. Patrick Walsh tells us why to use them, shows us how to create the maps, and how to leverage them over the long haul.

Walsh, Patrick C. Boxes and Arrows (2007). Design>Web Design>Information Design>Cartography

Navigation  

Navigation refers to the method used to find information within a Web site. A navigation page is used primarily to help users locate and link to destination pages. A Web site's navigation scheme and features should allow users to find and access information effectively and efficiently. When possible, this means designers should keep navigation-only pages short. Designers should include site maps, and provide effective feedback on the user's location within the site. To facilitate navigation, designers should differentiate and group navigation elements and use appropriate menu types. It is also important to use descriptive tab labels, provide a clickable list of page contents on long pages, and add ‘glosses' where they will help users select the correct link. In well-designed sites, users do not get trapped in dead-end pages.

Usability.gov (2006). Design>Web Design>User Interface>Cartography

Road to Nowhere - Dublin's Road Signs Get Told Where To Go

There are two superlative facts about Dublin City’s traffic situation. The first is that a recent study has shown us to have the second worse traffic congestion problem in the world (my condolences to any readers that have to drive through Calcutta on a Monday morning) and the second is that we are, or rather were, the proud possessors of the shortest lived traffic signage system in the world. The signs lasted a mere 24 hours before the Minister for transport ordered these signs be removed. Why were they removed? The answer is usability, or lack of usability to be more precise. Unsuspecting motorists were unable to figure out what the signs were trying to tell them. There were several usability problems with the signs, and many of these have been covered in the media so I won’t cover that ground again. But for any of you that are unfamiliar with the story, the major complaints levelled at them were: they had too much information on them to read at a glance; the format of the information was unfamiliar to everyone (except the people that designed them); tommon place-names were replaced by a system of numbers and colour coding, requiring users to consult maps to establish where they were and where they were heading; the information was difficult to read – too many graphic elements and poor colour contrast; some of the information was only available in the Irish language (contrary to EU standards) and the reason given was that there was not enough space for the English text, so visiting motorists would have to guess that ‘An Lar’ means ‘City Centre’! Having looked at the signs during their brief career on the streets, I would have to agree with the complaints listed above. But at this juncture, rather than raking over old coals, lets examine what Dublin City Council can do to rectify the situation and what steps can be taken to ensure that these mistakes are not repeated in the new design.

Long, Frank. Frontend Infocentre (2001). Articles>Usability>Traveler Information>Cartography

Search Engine Decoder: Relationship Chart

An interactive multimedia 'map' about the interconnections between various Internet search engines.

Search-This (2004). Resources>Web Design>Search>Cartography

A Shared Reality: Maps as Metaphor

Maps help us navigate. On the Internet, finding things has become the big challenge. Death by a thousand clicks is the bane of any net user. The reason? We are attempting to shoe-horn the metaphor of maps–tools for navigating complex spaces–into existing metaphors, such as the infinite book that is the World Wide Web.

Malamud, Carl. Mappa Mundi (1999). Design>Information Design>Cartography

Site Map Usability

One of the oldest hypertext usability principles is to visualize the structure of the information space to help users understand where they can go. On today's Web, site maps are a common approach to facilitating navigation. Unfortunately, they are often not very successful at it. We conducted a usability study of site maps on 10 websites, and our main conclusion is that users are reluctant to use site maps and sometimes have problems even finding them. Considering that site maps could be particularly useful to people who are lost, it is not good news that they are often hard to find.

Nielsen, Jakob. Alertbox (2002). Articles>Usability>Web Design>Cartography