Cartographic language and portrayal - by Dr Alex Kent, Canterbury University

1. The Power
of the
Image
2011
Cartographic Language
and Portrayal
Dr Alex Kent
Canterbury Christ Church University

2. Cartographic Language
and Portrayal
● Defining cartographic expression
● Stylistic diversity in European state
1:50,000 topographic mapping
● The role of cartographic language
in Slovenia and Latvia

3. The Power
of the
Image
2011
There is no neutral naturalism. The artist, no
less the writer, needs a vocabulary before he
can embark on a ‘copy’ of reality.
Gombrich (1960)
The limits of my language mean the limits of
my world.
Wittgenstein (1922)

4. The Power
of the
Image
2011

5. Kraak and Ormeling (1996)

6. Robinson et al. (1995)

8. Keates (1996)
1:10 000
1:25 000
1:50 000
1:100 000
1:250 000

9. General Staff of the
Soviet Union Armed Forces
(1964-1986)

10. Olson and Whitmarsh (1944)

11. Department of Transport (1995)

14. Shooting Range
(Denmark)
Castle
(Belgium)
Radio Mast
(Finland)
Police Station
(Ireland)
Sewage Treatment Plant
(Latvia)
Windmill
(France)
Other Church
(Poland)
Alpine Dairy Farm
(Austria)
Watermill
(Spain)

15. The Power
of the
Image
2011
Ordnance Survey, 2004

16. The Power
of the
Image
2011

17. The Power
of the
Image
2011

18. The Power
of the
Image
2011
IGN, 1981

19. The Power
of the
Image
2011
Why should there be stylistic diversity?
● Terrain, climate, and vegetation

20. The Power
of the
Image
2011

21. The Power
of the
Image
2011
Lantmäteriet, 2001

22. The Power
of the
Image
2011
Topografische Dienst, 1999

23. The Power
of the
Image
2011
Landesvermessungsamt Nordrhein-Westfalen, 2004

24. The Power
of the
Image
2011
Bundesamt Für Eich- und Vermessungswesen, 1998Uprava Republike Slovenije, 2003

25. The Power
of the
Image
2011
Why should there be stylistic diversity?
● Terrain, climate, and vegetation
● Culture and society
Some features have more importance in certain
cultures, thus:
 The landscape may be classified differently:
▪ selection/omission of features
▪ detail (number of symbols per feature type or ‘class’)
 Features may be symbolized differently:
▪ emphasis (e.g., shape, colour, size, texture)
▪ abstraction
▪ aesthetic value

26. Inuit terms for snow and ice
(Hall, 1997)

27. The Power
of the
Image
2011
Investigating Stylistic Diversity
● Consistency of Scale and Purpose
(20 European state 1:50 000 topographic maps)
- Widespread accessibility and usage
- Versatile (equilibrium of generalization)
● Preservation of Choice
- Design limitations (paper)
- Usage limitations (single visualization)
● Legend Symbologies
- Independent of landscape covered on single sheet
- Perceived to be useful to the user
● Classification of Discrete Symbols
- 19 initial classes aggregated into broader classes
- Colour, Lettering, Visual Hierarchy, ‘White’ Space

29. The Power
of the
Image
2011

30. Czech Republic France Slovenia

32. The Power
of the
Image
2011

34. Road
0.0 5.0 10.0 15.0 20.0 25.0 30.0
Belgium
Great Britain
Netherlands
Portugal
Ireland
Switzerland
Czech Republic
France
Sweden
Iceland
Spain
Denmark
Slovenia
Germany
Norway
Austria
Country
Percentage of Whole Symbol Set

35. Hydrology
0.0 5.0 10.0 15.0 20.0 25.0
Iceland
Norway
Slovenia
Germany
Austria
Sweden
Belgium
Denmark
Portugal
Switzerland
Czech Republic
France
Spain
Ireland
Netherlands
Great Britain
Country
Percentage of Whole Symbol Set

37. Star Plot of Level III Symbol Counts
(Poland Example)

38. The Power
of the
Image
2011

39. Cluster Analysis: Level III Classification

40. The Power
of the
Image
2011

41. The Power
of the
Image
2011
Ordnance Survey, 2004

42. The Power
of the
Image
2011
Ordnance Survey Ireland, 2003

43. Political Independence and Cartographic Language
‘Geopolitical blocks’
(after Dingsdale,
1999; 2002)

44. The Power
of the
Image
2011

45. Yugoslav National Army, 1970

46. Uprava Republike Slovenije, 2003

47. The Power
of the
Image
2011

48. The Power
of the
Image
2011

49. Rīga – Before and After Independence
(GUGIK, 1980) (LGIA, c. 1998)

50. General Staff of the Soviet Union Armed Forces, 1988

51. Latvian State Land Service, 1998

52. Latvian State Land Service, 2001

53. The Power
of the
Image
2011
Contrasting Cultures of Map Use
 In Yugoslavia, surveying was devolved and 1:5,000
aerial photography existed for most areas of Slovenia
 In Yugoslavia, access to topographic maps was
less restricted (e.g. for orienteering)
 In the USSR, topographic maps were secret
documents and not available for public use
 After independence, Slovenia’s state topographic
maps were more articulate in expressing the
national landscape

54. Common Ground, 2000

55. The Power
of the
Image
2011
OpenStreetMap, 2010

56. USGS-International Map of the World, 1949 (1:1 000 000)
Vi parolas Esperanton?

57. The Power
of the
Image
2011
The limits of my language mean the limits of
my world.
Wittgenstein (1922)

58. The Power
of the
Image
2011
Thank you!
alexander.kent@canterbury.ac.uk