Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
Size and shape are key visual variable to distinguish quantity and quality in car-
tographic representation.
crete, never garish, and never use overly bright colors that many people
(especially the elderly) have difficulties distinguishing. Generally, all people
have great difficulties putting colors into a sequence, making color ill-suited
for showing quantitative differences. People distinguish gray tones, or value,
as a sequence from light to dark. The second principle is that colors should
align themselves with existing conventions. All people associate blue with
water, but other colors may be associated with cultural values and, in some
countries, laws require the use of certain colors for certain legal documents
and maps.
Color is very complex and differences in displays and printing equip-
ment can lead to astonishing differences. Different standardized color mod-
els are generally used for web documents, video, computer screens, and
print documents. CMYK (cyan, magenta, yellow, and key—black) is the most
common specification for print; RGB (red, green, blue) is widely used for
screen displays.
Cartographic Representation Types
Media and Formats
Depending on the media and the format of the map or visualization output,
cartographic representation must be adapted. Size and format are impor-
tant, but the media is a key variable that should not be overlooked.
OUTPUT TYPES
The output types of maps and visualization usually range from small news-
paper, cellphone, or brochure maps to large poster-size maps. Specialized
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