Making Maps: A Visual Guide to Map Design for GIS

by John Krygier, Denis Wood

A concise, down-to-earth guide to creating maps using GIS, this book is visually engaging, clear, and compelling--exactly how an effective map should be. Featuring over 300 maps and other figures, including instructive examples of both good and poor design choices, the book covers everything from locating and processing data to making decisions about layout, map symbols, color, and type. For students, professionals, and others who want to make better maps, this is an essential, uniquely helpful resource. The author's website (http://makingmaps.owu.edu) offers excerpts from each chapter, links to related sites, and a regularly updated blog on the topic of making maps.

Genres: Geography, Maps, Reference, Design, Cartography

303 pages, Paperback

First published August 17, 2005

Reviews

[Zaid Nolley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Works well as a primer and mainly sticks to common sense design practices, but expounding on these is still useful. Also good for gaining a familiarity with basic GIS and mapmaking terminology.

[Manuel Frias · Rating 4 out of 5]

GIS, cartography and geography teachers: show this book to your students! They will appreciate! Highly graphic and didactic, it is an excellent start for people learning the map design basics.

Well, not only for starters. GIS experts can also learn since the design aspects of the map are often forgotten or not considered important (how many of them have read Tufte?).

I liked very much the bibliography at the end of each chapter which inspires you to read more about each subject.

The illustrations and maps are most of them in black and white. That surprised me and somehow annoyed me. Until I read the last page: "...we have limited the use of color to keep down its cost.

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

Generally enjoyed this book. In a few chapters the authors assume the reader has enough expertise that they skim too much to be truly informative. Their repeated insistence to "use your brain" gets really annoying. Overall, this was a fun and informative read, despite implying that its readers are a little dim.

[Chipp · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent visual guide to map-making. Evening read for sure.

[Cathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best map-making book ever.

[Avid Septiana · Rating 4 out of 5]

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[Ryan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some good ideas here but eye-poppingly bad graphics and graphic design! The choice of fonts, the layout, etc. is unbelievably terrible.