Aesthetics: A Lost Cause in Cartographic Theory?

Kent, A. J.

doi:10.1179/000870405x61487

Cited by 51 publications

(29 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…The results of this study generally confirm the assumption that an additional layer of grids -even if it may contradict aesthetic aspects of map design (Kent 2013;Demaj and Field 2012;Kent 2005) -leads to an improvement in object location memory. As such, grids may be of benefit for navigation and wayfinding issues in map use.…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 85%

The Effects of Grid Line Separation in Topographic Maps for Object Location Memory

Edler¹,

Dickmann²,

Bestgen³

et al. 2014

Cartographica

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Research from the field of cognitive psychology provides evidence that cognitive representations of space based on maps or map-like sketches are subject to systematic distortion tendencies. These distortions influence the orientation capacity as they represent errors in spatial memory. Map grids are a traditional feature of map graphics that has rarely been considered in research on spatial distortions in cognitive maps. Grids traditionally assist the map reader in finding coordinates and objects, but they also provide a systematic and homogeneous structure for dividing up map information into smaller units supporting perception and spatial memory. In a previous study it was shown that grids improve object location memory. The aim of this study was to determine whether different sizes of grid cells have an effect on the quality of object location memory. Therefore, an empirical study including the test performances of 33 participants was carried out: the memory performance was measured as both the percentage of correctly recalled object locations (hit rate) and the mean distance errors of correctly recalled objects (spatial accuracy). Three different intervals of grid line spacing (Separation) were applied to topographic maps. These maps varied in their type of characteristic geographical areas, accompanied by three different levels of map complexity (Landscape). The results of this study show that both factors have an impact on object location memory in topographic maps. RÉSUMÉLa recherche sur la psychologie cognitive démontre que les représentations cognitives de l'espace fondées sur des cartes ou des croquis ont tendance à faire l'objet de distorsion systématique. Ces distorsions influencent la capacité d'orientation puisqu'elles représentent des erreurs dans la mémoire spatiale. On a rarement tenu compte des grilles cartographiques, une caractéristique traditionnelle des représentations graphiques de cartes, lors des recherches sur les distorsions spatiales dans les cartes cognitives. Par tradition, les grilles aident le lecteur d'une carte à trouver les coordonnées et les objets, mais elles fournissent également une structure systématique et homogène qui permet de diviser les renseignements contenus sur une carte en de plus petites unités, facilitant ainsi la perception et la mémoire spatiale. Une étude réalisée antérieurement a démontré que les grilles améliorent la mémoire servant à localiser les objets; cet article décrit une expérience conçue pour déterminer si les différentes dimensions des cellules des grilles ont un effet sur la qualité de ce type de mémoire. Dans une étude empirique des performances réalisées par 33 participants à un test, la performance de la mémoire a été mesurée à la fois selon le pourcentage d'objets correctement localisés (taux de succès) et selon les erreurs de distance moyennes des objets correctement localisés (exactitude spatiale). Le test utilisait trois différents intervalles d'espacements des lignes des grilles (séparation), intervalles appliqués à des cartes topographiqu...

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Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 85%

The Effects of Grid Line Separation in Topographic Maps for Object Location Memory

Edler¹,

Dickmann²,

Bestgen³

et al. 2014

Cartographica

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“…As Nivala, Brewster, and Sarjakoski (2008) argued, a map that frus-trates the user at first contact induces negative feelings, and the map will not be used in real situations. Moreover, as Kent (2005) pointed out, if a map tool is difficult to understand, users may worry less about these difficulties if the map has an attractive design. The results also show that even with the popularization of the Internet, thematic maps used for decision making still need to address the fact that this medium has some weaknesses.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Testing Subjective Preference and Map Use Performance: Use of Web Maps for Decision Making in the Public Health Sector

Mendonça¹,

Delazari²

2014

Cartographica

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Maps support many planning activities, from general purpose tasks to in-depth spatial analyses. However, preferences and intuitions, which occur in all human interactions, are often disregarded in use and user research in cartography, and there is evidences that analysis of these factors is desirable. It is commonly believed that there is a positive correlation between subjective preference and objective performance, and there is agreement about the main role of media in map comprehension. To investigate this topic, quantitative experiments were performed, based on a real situation in which students need to make decisions about public health care management in a city. Users were asked about their preferences with respect to map type, and performances in carrying out tasks were measured. The results indicate that for simple visual comparison tasks, the proposed Web map framework was adequate. However, this was not the case for reasoning tasks, where weak performances were registered. Also, user preference among visual variables seemed to be unrelated to better performance, and since performances were poor, the important role played by interface usability and attractiveness in map use is verified. RÉSUMÉLes cartes appuient de nombreuses activités de planification, depuis les tâches générales jusqu'aux analyses spatiales approfondies. Souvent, la recherche sur l'utilisation et les utilisateurs menée en cartographie ne tient toutefois pas compte des préférences et des intuitions qui existent dans tous les échanges humains et des éléments de preuve indiquent qu'il est souhaitable d'analyser ces facteurs. On croit couramment qu'il y a un lien positif entre la préférence subjective et le rendement objectif et l'on s'entend sur le rôle de premier plan que jouent les médias dans la compréhension des cartes. Pour analyser ce sujet, on a procédé à des expériences quantitatives basées sur des situations de la vie réelle au cours desquelles des étudiants doivent prendre des décisions sur la gestion des soins de santé publics dans une ville. On a demandé aux utilisateurs d'indiquer leurs préférences quant au type de carte et l'on a mesuré leur rendement dans l'exécution de tâches. Les résultats indiquent que le cadre cartographique Web proposé suffit pour des comparaisons visuelles simples, mais non pour des tâches de raisonnement à l'égard desquelles les utilisateurs ont produit un rendement médiocre. Il a aussi semblé n'y avoir aucun lien entre la préférence des utilisateurs à l'égard des variables visuelles et un meilleur rendement. Comme le rendement était médiocre, les résultats vérifient le rôle important que joue le caractère utilisable et attrayant de l'interface dans l'utilisation des cartes.

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“…In a culture, invisible rules of good taste seem to apply, and they are subject to change over time. The role of aesthetic judgment in the map-making process is difficult to define but is still acknowledged to be an important part of it (Kent, 2005). Aesthetic properties should be considered in all visualisation tasks, such as symbol design.…”

Section: Effects Of the Cultural Backgroundmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cultural Constraints in the Design of Pictographic Symbols

Korpi¹,

Ahonen-Rainio²

2010

The Cartographic Journal

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International crisis management is a field where numerous national, organisational and domain cultures encounter one another, causing problems in information transfer between various actors. The symbols used in situation maps in this kind of an environment should be culturally independent and value-free in order to be properly understood. However, designing culturally independent symbols is difficult because the cultural background of an individual is complex and influences the interpretation of symbols in many ways. In this paper, we discuss the influences of different cultural background factors on both the design and the comprehension of map symbols. Cultural influences are considered as conventions in code systems, definitions in formal and informal conceptual models, and conventions in aesthetic judgments. As examples in the discussion, we use findings from a symbol design project for situation maps in international crisis management.

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Aesthetics: A Lost Cause in Cartographic Theory?

Cited by 51 publications

References 16 publications

The Effects of Grid Line Separation in Topographic Maps for Object Location Memory

The Effects of Grid Line Separation in Topographic Maps for Object Location Memory

Testing Subjective Preference and Map Use Performance: Use of Web Maps for Decision Making in the Public Health Sector

Cultural Constraints in the Design of Pictographic Symbols

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