Setting your problem

Know your audience

Maps are for people, but people have different needs and abilities.

Think about your audience early in the process. Ask yourself:

Who is your intended audience?
What knowledge will they bring to reading your map?
What might constrain their ability to read your map?

Done not due

How will you know when you are done making your map?

Make a list of the questions that your map needs to answer, or the decisions it should help someone make. Rank the list by importance. Distinguish must from might. Think through the spatial relationships your reader will need to understand.

Return to this pattern as you work. Does everything on your map help answer one of the spatial questions you’ve identified? Is there anything that doesn’t serve the map’s purpose? If so, what are your reasons for keeping it?

Object in the world

A map is a physical object. Its form should support use in both a real environment and a real activity.

Identify what people will be doing—and where—when they use your map. Design to support those actions in those settings.

If you’re making a poster for a conference, remember: the room may be dim, your audience will be standing, and they’ve probably finished the free drink that brought them to your poster in the first place.

If you’re making a walking guide, consider that your audience may be outside—day or night, rain or shine—and using the map while on the move.

If you’re making a map for a magazine, consider how photographs in the story may inform your palette.

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