Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
A Framework for Color Design of Digital
Maps: An Example of Noise Maps
Beate Weninger
Introduction
Colors have been used in cartography “to label (color as noun), to measure (color as
quantity), to represent or imitate reality (color as representation), and to enliven or
decorate (color as beauty)” (Tufte 1990 , p. 81). In thematic mapping, such as traffic
noise maps, color especially is used to represent quantity. Colors are therefore
arranged in a color scheme to represent a range of ordered values. Used properly
colors then have the power to reveal the structure within the data, but they can also
contribute to misinterpretation if used carelessly.
Principles for so-called sequential and diverging color schemes that are used to
represent ordered values have been introduced (Harrower and Brewer 2003 ) and put
into practice in ColorBrewer , a library for color schemes. ColorBrewer laid a
theoretical and practical basis for color design in cartography and also indicates
the suitability of schemes for users with color vision deficiencies (CVD). Although
color design has been addressed in depth and cartographers have described its
complexity, examples on the internet show that guidelines are still neglected,
especially by untrained map makers. Rainbow color schemes, e.g., are still used
in maps and scientific visualizations although their unsuitability was pointed out
(Light and Bartlein 2004 ). Also, the difference between qualitative and sequential
schemes has been stressed and the importance of a perceptual order of the color
patches has been highlighted (Brewer 1994 ). The reason why guidelines are ignored
is sometimes simply because map-makers, often non-cartographers, do not know
ColorBrewer or similar libraries and standard software does not give cues to
suitable schemes based an data characteristics. However, for some applications,
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