Making Maps, Second Edition: A Visual Guide to Map Design for GIS [Paperback]

John Krygier PhD (Author), Denis Wood PhD (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 23, 2011 | ISBN-10: 1609181662 | ISBN-13: 978-1609181666 | Edition: Second Edition

Acclaimed for its innovative use of visual material, this book is engaging, clear, and compelling—exactly how an effective map should be. Nearly every page is organized around maps and other figures (many in full color) that illustrate all aspects of map making, including instructive examples of both good and poor design choices. The book covers everything from locating and processing data to making decisions about layout, symbols, color, and type. Readers are invited to think critically about both the technical features and social significance of maps as they learn to create better maps of their own.

 

New to This Edition

*Extensively revised and expanded core chapters on map design.

*An annotated map design exemplar is used to show how the concepts in each chapter play out on an actual map.

*Updated to reflect current technological developments.

*Larger size and redesigned pages make the book even more user friendly.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Building on their solid first edition, Krygier and Wood have created a new and much richer follow-up. The second edition represents a serious reworking of subject matter and graphics. The book uses extraordinary map exemplars to address the full range of basic cartographic concepts and to demonstrate many subtle and advanced design techniques as well. Making Maps is appropriate for beginning to intermediate college cartography students and others who want to tap into the power of map creation. Addressing current social issues including map agendas, ethics, and democracy, it is the kind of book that will inspire readers and cultivate admiration for the field."--James E. Meacham, Senior Research Associate and InfoGraphics Lab Director, Department of Geography, University of Oregon "Krygier and Wood’s book should be used by anyone interested in the way the world looks, the way the world works, or the way the world should be. It remains the most accessible yet comprehensive guide of its kind. The second edition meets the needs and expectations of the 'Google generation' of map users while remaining true to the guiding principles that govern how maps look, work, and function. The very accessible, extensively illustrated format makes the book easily usable by students at all levels, as well as those taking steps to develop expertise in cartographic design."--Paul Longley, Department of Geography, University College London, United Kingdom

"The book looks great, and Krygier and Wood simplify the ideas in a practical and useful manner. I am using it as a key text for a year 2 map design course."--Environment and Planning B

(Environment and Planning B: Planning and Design 20110325)

"What makes the book unique is that on each page illustrations highlight the idea under discussion; the text merely works in a supportive, explanatory role....Making Maps is a worthwhile investment for any who are looking to produce better maps without having to take a Cartography 101 course."--Cartography

(Cartography 20110325)

"Should be examined by anyone charged with communicating issues and ideas through geography. Authored by two respected cartographers, this volume provides comprehensive and thorough instruction on virtually every aspect of map design. It is a great book for students who are just starting to create maps and for practitioners needing a refresher on the fundamentals of map design....The book's major strength is the enormous amount of practical how-to information that is packed into each section."--Journal of Planning Literature

(Journal of Planning Literature 20110325)

"I find this book's approach to key geospatial concepts to be extremely effective, user-friendly, and just plain helpful....Delivers useful map making insights, quickly, simply, and appropriately."--Journal of the American Planning Association

(Journal of the American Planning Association 20110325)

"A comprehensive manual that explains how you can obtain data, organise and transform it, and query its accuracy....It's a highly illustrated book with each page having as much space devoted to maps and other figures as text....This makes the information succinct and immediately accessible, whether you're reading from cover to cover or using the book as a reference work....There are some brilliant literary map quotations that accompany each chapter and some intriguing un-annotated maps to consider. This book adds to the growing list of Guilford Press 'cartographic classics.'"--International Research in Geographical and Environmental Education

(International Research in Geographical and Environmental Education 20060103)

"The exemplars are thought-provoking reminders of what all maps can be....A source of inspiration for those interested in improving map design and the understanding of geospatial information. This volume is perfect for both geography/GIS collections and browsing collections. Highly recommended. Lower-division undergraduates and above."--Choice

(Choice 20111103)

"The book is well written, utilizing language that can be easily understood by those with little or no experience in the art and science of cartography. The utilization of the Voyager flight throughout the book provides continuous examples of the topics discussed in each chapter. Each chapter concludes with a reference section for those who desire a more in-depth discussion of the concepts presented....Allows readers to quickly grasp the basic concepts of map-making and would serve as an excellent resource to anyone interested in map design or as a supplement to texts that utilize a more theoretical approach."--Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing

(Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing 20120501)

About the Author

John Krygier teaches in the Department of Geology and Geography at Ohio Wesleyan University, with teaching and research specializations in cartography, geographic information systems (GIS), and environmental and human geography. He has published on map design, educational technology, cultural geography, multimedia in cartography, planning, the history of cartography, and participatory GIS.

Denis Wood curated the award-winning Power of Maps exhibition for the Smithsonian and writes widely about maps. A former professor of design at North Carolina State University, Wood is a currently an independent scholar living in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: The Guilford Press; Second Edition edition (March 23, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1609181662
• ISBN-13: 978-1609181666
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 0.7 x 9.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #245,203 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #29 in Books > Professional & Technical > Professional Science > Earth Sciences > Cartography

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars An Entertaining Overview January 30, 2013

By R. Keeney

Format:Paperback

The way this book is set up is very unusual for a textbook and this makes it a very enjoyable read. It would be very easy to just lay out all the concepts in a way that would bore readers to tears but this book goes above and beyond and explains concepts in a highly entertaining way that makes you understand and remember. It is a very good and thorough overview of what needs to be considered when making maps.

In addition, if you are going deep into the field it has lots of book suggestions to build up your geographic library.

Unlike another reviewer, I highly recommend this book for those who are in the beginning process of learning GIS/cartography (or if you are just a geo-geek).

14 of 25 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars Author unaware of his audience March 15, 2012

By Paul Jameson

Format:Paperback

I am a cartography student. This book is a required text. One of the most important subjects the instructor has taught us is to know your audience in order to make a map that will communicate effectively to them. Upon wading through this text I feel the authors do not know their audience. The book is obviously not meant for an advanced course. It is supposed to be for beginners, I guess, like me. But the authors do not seem to have decided what it is they want to communicate. 12 pages are dedicated to cute sayings or poetry. 43 pages are given over to meaningless diagrams that seem more like artwork and do not appear to add to the subject. The book is 256 pages and those useless pages make up over 20% of the book.

The index is full of references to people some of which I have heard of like Roseanne Barr, Norman Mailer, Lee Harvey Oswald and Mark Twain, and many I haven't. What became frustrating was trying to find some references to cartography stuff that were missing while I could find where Norman Mailer is discussed. Who cares? What is the book supposed to be? a text on cartography or a social treatise. I feel the authors want a second career outside cartography.

Some statements were questionable like saying the Gaza Strip is not part of Israel. It may not be for long, but it is now. The authors are PhDs and should at least know what is generally known. Another misstatement is "one degree of latitude is always 69 miles..." True if you round off to the units place, but it is not absolutely true. 1 deg lat at the equator is 68.7 miles and at 80 degrees it = 69.4 miles. A minor point to be sure, but their statement was an absolute, which is wrong.

I know something about comparing apples to apples. If one wants to make a comparison, in order for it to make sense, everything has to be kept constant while only one variable is changed. Sometimes their method of analysis does not make sense. For example in chapter 8 on Map Generalization and Classification, pages 152 - 154, the subject is Data Classification. To make their points they show 4 series of maps covering Qualitative Point data, Qualitative Line data, Quantitative Point data and Quantitative line data. The first series (Qualitative Point data) of maps violate the basic comparison rule, whereas the other 3 series' do not. The first three maps in the first series are titled "Most Important Social Issues, Community Social Concerns and Predicted Party Affiliation. Three different maps showing different data. But the other three series titles are consistent: Tourist roads, tourist roads, tourist roads; Toxins, toxins, toxins; and Speeds, speeds and speeds. In the latter 3 series Tourist roads, and then Toxins and then Speeds are kept constant and the changes in the way the mapping is done clearly shows why in each case the latter map is the better one. However, in the first everything changes from map to map. Each data point changes and conveys something different. One cannot understand how the last map (Predicted Party Affiliation) is better than the one showing Most Important Social Issues.

In chapter 9 on page 196 the subject is Surface Maps. The definition for Isopleth maps is given, but Isorythmic maps are not mentioned. Reading their definition of Isopleth maps sounds a little like the definition of Isorythmic maps. The confusion comes from the fact that both deal with surface maps. Isopleth maps have constant value contour lines whereas the Isorythmic maps deal with shading of colors to indicate the changes in the surface values. And even though they define Isopleth maps, they show Isorythmic maps as examples (???). Bottom line the book is not the quality I would expect from authors who apparently have high qualifications. The book is more akin to a undergraduate term paper.

There are places where the writing is good and allows the reader to learn something, then the style gets weird, or parenthetical or changes person, or there are missing sentences. I don't know how to categorize it. Just strange.

They include a map of the flight of the voyager in each chapter and show why it is good according to the subject of that chapter. That is a good approach. I can learn by looking at the map.

But finally, they include a picture of an ugly naked woman. Hey guys if you are going to show naked women, at least include ones worth looking at.

I would not recommend the book.

0 of 3 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely USELESS February 7, 2013

By S. Navarro

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

This book is better being burned. I got nothing out of this so-called "book" and still managed to get an A in the class. For some reason, the authors think that pretty pictures and uniquely formatted text is supposed to be meaningful. I think stabbing myself in eye would have been more educational.