cartographic language and portrayal

The Power of the Image2011

Cartographic Languageand Portrayal

Dr Alex KentCanterbury Christ Church University

Cartographic Languageand Portrayal

● Defining cartographic expression

● Stylistic diversity in European state1:50,000 topographic mapping

● The role of cartographic language in Slovenia and Latvia


There is no neutral naturalism. The artist, no less the writer, needs a vocabulary before he can embark on a ‘copy’ of reality.

Gombrich (1960)

The limits of my language mean the limits of my world.

Wittgenstein (1922)

Kraak and Ormeling (1996)

Robinson et al. (1995)

Keates (1996)

1:10 000

1:25 000

1:50 000

1:100 0001:250 000

General Staff of the Soviet Union Armed Forces(1964-1986)

Olson and Whitmarsh (1944)

Department of Transport (1995)

Shooting Range(Denmark)

Castle(Belgium) Radio Mast

(Finland)

Police Station(Ireland)

Sewage Treatment Plant(Latvia)

Windmill(France)

Other Church(Poland)

Alpine Dairy Farm(Austria)

Watermill(Spain)


Ordnance Survey, 2004


IGN, 1981


Why should there be stylistic diversity?

● Terrain, climate, and vegetation


Lantmäteriet, 2001


Topografische Dienst, 1999


Landesvermessungsamt Nordrhein-Westfalen, 2004


Bundesamt Für Eich- und Vermessungswesen, 1998Uprava Republike Slovenije, 2003


Why should there be stylistic diversity?

● Terrain, climate, and vegetation

● Culture and society

Some features have more importance in certain cultures, thus:

The landscape may be classified differently:▪ selection/omission of features▪ detail (number of symbols per feature type or ‘class’)

Features may be symbolized differently:▪ emphasis (e.g., shape, colour, size, texture)▪ abstraction▪ aesthetic value

Inuit terms for snow and ice(Hall, 1997)


Investigating Stylistic Diversity● Consistency of Scale and Purpose

(20 European state 1:50 000 topographic maps)- Widespread accessibility and usage- Versatile (equilibrium of generalization)

● Preservation of Choice- Design limitations (paper) - Usage limitations (single visualization)

● Legend Symbologies- Independent of landscape covered on single sheet- Perceived to be useful to the user

● Classification of Discrete Symbols - 19 initial classes aggregated into broader classes- Colour, Lettering, Visual Hierarchy, ‘White’ Space

Czech Republic France Slovenia

Road

0.0 5.0 10.0 15.0 20.0 25.0 30.0

Belgium

Great Britain

Netherlands

Portugal

Ireland

Switzerland

Czech Republic

France

Sweden

Iceland

Spain

Denmark

Slovenia

Germany

Norway

Austria

Cou

ntry

Percentage of Whole Symbol Set

Hydrology

0.0 5.0 10.0 15.0 20.0 25.0

Iceland

Norway

Slovenia

Germany

Austria

Sweden

Belgium

Denmark

Portugal

Switzerland

Czech Republic

France

Spain

Ireland

Netherlands

Great Britain

Cou

ntry

Percentage of Whole Symbol Set

Star Plot of Level III Symbol Counts(Poland Example)

Cluster Analysis: Level III Classification


Ordnance Survey, 2004


Ordnance Survey Ireland, 2003

Political Independence and Cartographic Language

‘Geopolitical blocks’(after Dingsdale, 1999; 2002)

Yugoslav National Army, 1970

Uprava Republike Slovenije, 2003

Rīga – Before and After Independence

(GUGIK, 1980) (LGIA, c. 1998)

General Staff of the Soviet Union Armed Forces, 1988

Latvian State Land Service, 1998

Latvian State Land Service, 2001


Contrasting Cultures of Map Use

In Yugoslavia, surveying was devolved and 1:5,000 aerial photography existed for most areas of Slovenia

In Yugoslavia, access to topographic maps wasless restricted (e.g. for orienteering)

In the USSR, topographic maps were secret documents and not available for public use

After independence, Slovenia’s state topographic maps were more articulate in expressing the national landscape

Common Ground, 2000


OpenStreetMap, 2010

USGS-International Map of the World, 1949 (1:1 000 000)

Vi parolas Esperanton?


The limits of my language mean the limits of my world.

Wittgenstein (1922)


Thank you!

[email protected]