Typography, as an aspect of cartographic design, is the craft of designing and placing text on a map in support of the map symbols, together representing geographic features and their properties. It is also often called map labeling or lettering, but typography is more in line with the general usage of typography. Throughout the history of maps to the present, their labeling has been dependent on the general techniques and technologies of typography.
History
For most of the history of Cartography, the text on maps was hand drawn, and Calligraphy was an essential part of the skill set of the cartographer. This did not change with the advent of printing in the 15th Century, because the dispersed placement of the text did not lend itself to the use of Movable type. Instead, printed maps, including text, were drawn, engraved, and printed using the Intaglio or "copperplate" process. It was typical for the cartographer to not label the map himself, but to leave it to the master engraver. Text styles frequently changed with the tastes of the time, but were often very ornate, especially in non-map elements such as the title. The development of Photoengraving, Zincography, and wax engraving in the mid-19th Century significantly changed the production of maps and their labels, enabling the addition of printed type to maps using stamps, but map lettering still required a great deal of skill; this remained the state of the art until the development of Photolithography in the 1950s. The photographic platemaking process meant that type could be produced on paper in a variety of ways, producing map labels of the same quality as book text. That said, as late as 1960, Arthur H. Robinson still advised new cartographers to be skilled in freehand lettering, and mechanical lettering tools were still in common usage through the 1980s, encouraging a very simplistic functional style over any aesthetic character. A significant turning point was "Die Anordnung der Namen in der Karte", a 1962 essay (re-published in English in 1975) by Swiss cartographer Eduard Imhof, considered the greatest European cartographer of his day. Imhof analyzed the best maps he could find, such as the Swisstopo topographic maps, deriving a set of general principles and guidelines for type design and placement, which subsequent research has largely corroborated and further developed, and which forms the core canon on the topic found in modern cartography textbooks. In 1972, Pinhas Yoeli began to codify Imhof's guidelines mathematically, setting the stage for Automatic label placement. In 2000, Clifford Wood extended Imhof's guidelines, based on the intervening 25 years of research and practice. The rise of Desktop publishing around 1990, including graphics software, laser printers, and inkjet printers, combined with the improving design capabilities of Geographic information systems, greatly increased and facilitated the more thoughtful design and use of type on maps. A wealth of typefaces became available, and it became easy to place text anywhere on the map. This completed the shift of skill in map typography from construction to design.
Purposes and goals of map labels
Text simultaneously serves several purposes on maps. In 1993, D. J. Fairbairn introduced a taxonomy of the purposes of text on maps, identifying fourteen types of text role. Since then, others, such as cartography textbooks, have described the variety of roles of text, with the following generally being the most common:
Identifying unique features, such as "The United Kingdom" Categorizing features into groups, such as "Smith Park" Describing or explaining information that cannot be directly derived from the map symbols or corroborating the symbolized information, such as "Box Lake (dry)," a note on the history of a building, or varying the size of city labels according to population to the size of the city symbols. Locating features that are not shown by a distinct symbol, such as "Arabian Sea" or "Rocky Mountains." Prescribing or Proscribing action, such as "No Camping." Organizing the conceptual structure of the map as a whole, such as strengthening the visual hierarchy. Beautifying the map as a whole. Characterizing the map with a particular aesthetic feel, such as using a typeface that looks playful, modern, or historical.
Aims and goals of cartographic typography In 1929, Ordnance Survey cartographer Captain John G. Withycombe, in a critique of the state of map lettering, listed five essential aims of cartographic typography.
Legibility: readers must be able to read the text, especially, as Withycombe states, "when superimposed upon the detail of a map." Reproducibility: this may not be as problematic as in 1929, but even modern technologies (especially computer screens) can have difficulty with the relatively small sizes of map labels, especially in colors other than solid black. Style: Withycombe points out that careful choice of "alphabet" (typeface) contributes not only to aesthetic appeal, but also to the two aims above. Contrast: labels for different kinds of features should themselves look different. Harmony: the various typefaces and styles used should work and look good together, and should produce an overall look of order and professionalism. In his 1962 paper, Imhof reiterated the primary importance of legibility, and added the following requirements (listed here with modern terminology); he then showed how most specific guidelines and practices are derived from these principles:
Association: the reader must be able to clearly connect each label to the feature it is labeling. Withycombe's contrast is an important part of this. Conflict avoidance: many of the above aims can be aided by placing labels so they do not overlap too many map features, especially other labels. Extent: labels should help to indicate the spatial extent of the features they label, as well as their distinction from other features Hierarchy: like the symbols for each feature, Withycombe's contrast in lettering can be used to strengthen the Visual hierarchy of features in the map. Distribution: "Names should not be evenly dispersed over the map, nor should names be densely clustered." In subsequent literature, textbooks, and the GIS&T Body of Knowledge, legibility, association, and hierarchy are typically listed as the most crucial of these aims, while conflict avoidance is one of the core foundations of Automatic label placement.
Type styling
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