page_title: Cartographic design
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Cartographic design / History
caption_attribution_description: English: Charles Minard's 1869 chart showing the number of men in Napoleon’s 1812 Russian campaign army, their movements, as well as the temperature they encountered on the return path. Lithograph, 62 x 30 cm Français&#160;: Carte de Charles Minard de 1869 montrant le nombre d’hommes au sein de l’armée de Napoléon lors de la campagne de Russie de 1812, leurs mouvements, ainsi que les températures encontrées lors du retour. Lithographie, 62 x 30 cm Deutsch: Karte von Charles Minards aus dem Jahre 1869. Diese zeigt den Verlust an Soldaten, die Truppenbewegungen und die Temperaturen im Laufe von Napoleons Russlandfeldzug. Lithographie, 62 x 30 cm. Español: Mapa de Charles Minard (1869) que muestra el movimiento, las pérdidas humanas y la temperatura ambiental durante la campaña de Napoleón contra Rusia en 1812. Litografía, 62 x 30 cm. Català: Gràfic de Charles Minard del 1869 sobre l'exèrcit de Napoleó en la campanya de Rússia. Mostra el nombre d'efectius, el seus moviments, i la temperatura en la retirada. Litografia, 62 x 30 cm. Litografia, 62 x 30 cm. Türkçe: Charles Minard'ın 1869 tarihli haritası, Napolyon'un 1812 Rusya seferi sırasındaki asker kayıplarını, ordunun harketlerini, ve hava sıcaklıklarını gösteriyor. Litograf, 62 x 30 cm. Português: Mapa de Charles Minard de 1869, mostrando o número de homens ao longo da campanha de Napoleão contra a Rússia, em 1812, seus movimentos e a temperatura no caminho de volta. Litografia, 62 x 30 cm. Magyar: Charles Minard 1869-es grafikonja, amiről leolvasható az 1812-es orosz hadjáratán résztvevő katonáinak száma, az útvonaluk és leolvasható róla az a fagy, amit ki kellett bírniuk a visszavonulás során. Litográfia, 62 x 30 cm.
context_page_description: Cartographic design or map design is the process of crafting the appearance of a map, applying the principles of design and knowledge of how maps are used to create a map that has both aesthetic appeal and practical function. It shares this dual goal with almost all forms of design; it also shares with other design, especially Graphic design, the three skill sets of artistic talent, scientific reasoning, and technology. As a discipline, it integrates design, geography, and geographic information science.
  Arthur H. Robinson, considered the father of cartography as an academic research discipline in the United States, stated that a map not properly designed "will be a cartographic failure." He also claimed, when considering all aspects of cartography, that "map design is perhaps the most complex."
context_section_description: From ancient times to the 20th Century, cartography was a  craft or trade. Most map makers served several years as an  apprentice, learning the skills of the master, with little room for innovation other than adapting to changing production technology. That said, there were notable exceptions, such as the occasional introduction of a novel Map projection, and the advent of  thematic mapping in the 19th Century highlighted by the work of Charles Dupin and Charles Joseph Minard in France. As late as 1948, Erwin Raisz's General Cartography, the standard English textbook on the subject, reads as a set of instructions of how to construct maps in keeping with tradition, with very little reflection on why it is done that way. This was despite the fact that Raisz himself was a very creative designer, developing a style of Terrain depiction on physiographic maps that few have been able to replicate.
  Advances in cartographic production technology in the 20th Century, especially the advent and widespread availability of color Offset printing, then a multitude of advances spurred on by World War II, such as Photolithography, gave cartographers a larger palette of design options, and made it easier to creatively innovate. This was synchronized with the widespread expansion of higher education, during which most cartography training transitioned from an apprenticeship to a college degree (typically using Raisz's textbook in America). The new generation of cartography professionals and professors began to reflect on why some maps seemed to be better (in beauty and function) than others, and to think of ways to improve design. Perhaps chief among them was Arthur H. Robinson, whose short but seminal work The Look of Maps (1952) set the stage for the future of cartographic design, both for his early theorizing about map design, and for his honest acknowledgment of what was not yet known, soon spawning dozens of PhD dissertations. His subsequent textbook, 1953's Elements of Cartography, was a marked departure from the past, with a major focus on design, claiming to "present cartography as an intellectual art and science rather than as a sterile system of drafting and drawing procedures."
  Since the 1950s, a significant focus of Cartography as an academic discipline has been the  Cartographic Communication school of thought, seeking to improve design standards through increased scientific understanding of how maps are perceived and used, typically based on cognate disciplines such as psychology (especially perception,Gestalt psychology, and  psychophysical experimentation), Human vision, and Geography. Starting in the 1990s, this focus was challenged by the study of Critical cartography, which drew attention to the subjective, societal, and political aspects of map designs. A second major research track has been the investigation of the design opportunities offered by changing Technology, especially Computer graphics starting in the 1960s, Geographic information systems starting in the 1970s, and the Internet starting in the 1990s. However, as much or more of the recent innovation in cartographic design has been at the hands of professional cartographers, and their culture of freely sharing their design ideas through institutions such as the International Cartographic Association and the North American Cartographic Information Society.
caption: Charles Joseph Minard's map of Napoleon's Russian campaign of 1812 (1844) has been long recognized as a masterwork of cartographic design at a time when such was difficult and rare.
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