Making a map look good isn’t enough. Just like when you’re designing anything else, you have to find a delicate balance between function on the one hand and form on the other.
The former means that whatever you’re creating actually does what it’s supposed to. In the case of a map, this might mean giving a person clear instructions on the geographical locations, educating them on a specific issue, or making them laugh.
Function aside, the form of what you’re designing matters a lot, too. Like it or not, human beings are drawn to beautiful things. When you make something aesthetic, it captivates people.
Naturally, if you’ve spent a lot of time working on a map, making it the best it can possibly be, you want it to end up being seen by the biggest number of people possible. So, you need to spend some time refining the visuals to make it pleasant to look at.
All that being said, if you veer too much in either direction, prioritizing form over function or function over form, you might end up pushing people away.
For example, if your map looks absolutely divine, full of artistic flourishes, gorgeous fonts, and well-coordinated colors, but your audience gets lost among the details, you’ve failed as a cartographer.
Often, less is more.
You need to use the visuals to make it clear what the most important information on your map is.
On the other side of the scale, you have maps that are incredibly accurate and informative, but they lack that spark that would otherwise make them stand out from the crowd.
So, they fulfill their function well, but their form falls short of good design principles. A bit of imagination and soulfulness can really make your map sing.
People are very visual creatures. You need to know how to get their attention instantly as they’re scrolling through their social media feeds.
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People’s attention spans are short enough as they are right now. Based on recent research, the average person spends just 47 seconds using an electronic device before shifting their focus to something else.
This used to be 2.5 minutes back in the early 2000s.
So, the competition between digital creators for your attention on social media is even more intense.
As per Geography Realm, something to keep in mind when making a map is that you should only picture the area that is relevant to the data.
That sounds like common sense, but it’s fundamental.
What's more, any data that you choose to include on the map itself should be relevant. “Cluttering the map with too much background data can lead to excess noise and dilute the actual message of the map.”
