introduction to a language

Hello and welcome.

This site emerges from my efforts to teach cartography at Middlebury College. My three main goals are to:

  1. teach mapmaking principles through mapmaking practice (and develop ways to move beyond lecture/lab learning environments)
  2. identify concepts and problems of mapmaking that seem to outlast the specific tools used to make maps (the “timeless” stuff)
  3. compare and contrast concepts and problem-solving associated with making paper versus digital maps (I’m interested in what the trade-offs are for students between learning to make paper maps versus digital maps. I’m not for one and against the other. I’m wondering if learning one before the other may make sense when educators think about scope and sequence.)

To do this, I’ve initiated a pattern language for mapmaking, assisted by students at Middlebury College, based on the framework first developed by Christopher Alexander and his colleagues in Timeless Way of Building and A Pattern Language.

“The elements of this language are entities called patterns. Each pattern describes a problem which occurs over and over again in our environment, and then describes the core of the solution to that problem, in such a way that you can use this solution a million times over, without ever doing it the same way twice” (Alexander, Ishikawa, and Silverstein 1977, x)

In this case, “our environment” is where people make maps. The idea is that mapmaking involves a set of recurring problems. Each map may involve a different set of problems, but it is probably very rare for a mapmaker to encounter a problem that has never been solved before. With experience, mapmakers learn ways to solve these problems. A pattern language serves as a form of collective memory. It’s a method for structuring expertise learned through practice.

There are at least two kinds of mapmaking problems. One set deals with problems related to maps as a visual system of communication. The other set deals with problems related to the use of tools to make maps. The first set contains enduring problems. They will arise as long as mapmakers try to visually communicate spatial information with words and pictures. The second set contains ephemeral problems. They arise from the specific tools used to make maps and will endure as long as those tools are used.

This site aims to develop a pattern language for the first set of problems, the enduring problems of maps as visual systems to communicate spatial information with words and pictures. The site consists of two main pages:

  1. summary of the language
  2. learning from good examples

The summary page presents a list of patterns that are linked to more detailed descriptions. The summary guides the reader through a sequence of general categories of mapmaking problems. These include function, coherence, reference frame, layout, signaling, semantics, reference features, realism, nominal information, ordinal information, quantitative information, navigation, and spatial contiguity. While mapmakers do not need to follow this sequence step-by-step, I hope that it nevertheless provides a practical guide for thinking through a workflow and helps you incorporate the patterns through practice.

Each pattern description has the same structure, modeled after Alexander, Ishikawa, and Silverstein (1977). Very few of the patterns I’ve begun to write are this complete at present. (For patterns that are more complete, please see TYPE TAXONOMY or LEAKY CONTAINER).

TITLE. A few words, hopefully strung together in a way that students will find easy to remember.

Picture. A good illustration of the pattern from a published map.

Introduction. This sets the context of the pattern. It identifies a set of larger patterns that this pattern helps complete. The introduction should help you decide if the pattern described below will be particularly relevant to the map you are making. If your map includes the patterns described in this introduction, then it will likely identify a problem that you will need to solve.

Problem description. Describes the conflict in few sentences.

Discussion. One or more paragraphs that describe the background history and research on the problem and solution.

Solution. Describes how the mapmaker can solve the problem.

Related patterns. A short paragraph that identifies other patterns that are related to this and help complete, develop or embellish it. If you applied this pattern to your map, then you should read through these related patterns, as one or more may identify problems that you will need to solve.

The learning page presents a lists of good maps for learning patterns. Each map example includes a link to the set of PATTERNS the map illustrates and a link to a set of procedures for using tools to implement the patterns.

A few disclaimers: (1) this site is a work in progress. (2) The list of patterns is incomplete. I’ve done my best to get this started and I hope the list will grow over time. (3) The pattern descriptions are working drafts. Some work better than others.

IN OTHER WORDS, constructive advice on any page or pattern is more than welcome! Please use the comment boxes. If you would like to contribute to this learning resource, please contact me.

Thank you.

Jeff Howarth, Assistant Professor of Geography and Director of GIS Teaching Fellows Program, Middlebury College, Vermont, USA