| Résumé : |
(auteur) The notion of cartographic style is identified as an essential element of map design in the cartographic literature, but is has not been systematically studied. (Kent & Vujakovic 2009) characterize style as “appearance and content”, dependent of the geographic space represented in the map. On the one hand, (Beconyte 2011) emphasizes the complexity to formally define the structure of the employed style, but on the other hand she also argues that “the concept of style is applicable to every type of maps” (p. 1). Both authors suggest that it is possible to distinguish different map styles, according to a set of quantifiable parameters or systematic criteria. (Christophe 2012) presents some potential approaches such as, visual categorization, map specification, and artistic design style characterization to systematically capture the notion of style. We contend that a specific map design method may produce cartographic results with typical visual characteristics that can be identified as a cartographic style. In this paper, we propose a systematic approach to formalize cartographic styles, to be able to identify and to automatically design maps based on a chosen cartographic style. We contend that a specified style may be applicable to any type of geographic data, and is thus able to create data independent so called stylized maps. Furthermore, we assume that the consistent application of stylistic rules may significantly improve the graphic quality of the resulting map, dependent also on users’ needs. We propose to formalize and implement stylistic rules with and for existing cartographic design tools. Our challenge consists in proposing a comprehensive design framework, taking also into account data preprocessing (ie, selection, generalization, etc.), the visual variables, legend design, and the geographic features to be mapped. Data-dependent styles, thus dependent on the displayed geographic features, may also be useful for style formalization. We aim at systematically specify and visually characterize topographic maps at the same scale (i.e., 1:25000), according to cartographic pre-processing, map legend design, and mapped feature types, but from two different mapping agencies, both with a long-standing mapping tradition (i.e., IGN France, and Swisstopo). We chose topographic maps for our research, because they are aimed at effectively depicting territorial complexity. The IGN and Swisstopo maps also illustrate different cartographic practices and resulting styles. This allows us to specifically evaluate the graphic composition of a topographic style and the resulting visual impact it may have on users’ map perception and cognition. We are currently also considering thematic maps, such as subway maps and ski trails maps, in order to obtain a broader understanding of cartographic styles. With this work, we hope to extract operational design knowledge such as, relevant criteria and parameters, to be able to design stylized maps, considering different cartographic practices for varying geographic areas. |
Identification of styles in topographic maps (August 2013)
