Welcome to the International Cartographic Association
Welcome to the website of the International Cartographic AssociationGet to know the new ICA Executive Committee for the term 2023-2027
Welcome to the website of the International Cartographic Association
Get to know the new ICA Executive Committee for the term 2023-2027

Invitation to the Symposium ICA Spring Olomouc 2023

Objectives of the symposium

  • to explore current issues and themes in the theory and practice of three ICA commissions – atlases, map design, and user studies,
  • to exchange professional experiences and discuss problems arising from merging approaches of the commissions‘ domains,
  • to expose cartographers to current developments in atlases, their design and use.

ICA commissions

Venue

Palacký University Olomouc, Dept. of Geoinformatics (Vit Vozenilek)

Program

  • cartographic notions (3–5min calls for assistance in research,
    questions to be answered, info about the latest releases, etc.)
  • regular conference contributions (15min)
  • open discussion (after each session)
  • social program
    • Czech pub experience with cartoQuiz
    • short organ concert
  • atlases exhibition

Registration

  • includes access to sessions, material, coffee breaks, lunches, social program
  • open from November 1st, 2022
  • deadline for submission: January 31st, 2023
  • fee – 80 Euro

 

Please find more information at the symposium website: icaspring2023.upol.cz

Recipients of the ICA Map Awards 2019

At the biennial International Cartographic Conferences, ICA organizes an International Map Exhibition, where map products originating from ICA member countries are exhibited. An international jury selects the best entries in six categories; in addition, there is also a public vote. Please find the winners of the ICA Map Awards 2019 below.

Atlases

3rd place: Atlas of Poland’s Political Geography (Poland)

3rd: Atlas of Poland's Political Geography (Poland)

2nd place: Graphical Statistical Atlas of Switzerland 1897–20 (Switzerland)

2nd place: Graphical Statistical Atlas of Switzerland 1897-20

1st place: National Atlas of Hungary (Hungary)

A comprehensive, and detailed atlas. The cartography is lavish and sets Hungary’s natural environment in its human context. The maps are accompanied by numerous well presented graphs, text and infographics.

1st place: National Atlas of Hungary (Hungary)

Digital products

3rd place: Water Rhyme in Gusu (China)

2nd place: Caydence (United Kingdom)

2nd place: Caydence (United Kingdom)

1st place: Politics of Remembrance 1945–2015 (Austria)

A rich map-based portal to explore the memorial landscape of Vienna. The maps are beautifully designed and positioned within a very well constructed application to give the user multiple ways to interact.

Educational cartographic products

3rd place: Statistical Maps: Data Elaboration and Presentation (Poland)

3rd place: Statistical Maps: Data Elaboration and Presentation (Poland)

2nd place: TouchIt3D Tactile Maps (Czech Republic)

2nd place: TouchIt3D Tactile Maps (Czech Republic)

1st place: Cartography. (USA-Esri)

A bit big to take on a plane.

1st place: Cartography. (USA-Esri)

Other cartographic products

3rd place: 3D model of Domnica Cave (Czech Republic)

3rd place: 3D model of Domnica Cave (Czech Republic)

2nd place: Transparent globes (China)

2nd place: Transparent globes (China)

1st place: Map Data Provision Products (Japan)

Incorporating maps into the design of various products is not new but when done well, creates interesting and attractive items. Cartographers will certainly be keen to be seen in these shoes!

1st place: Map Data Provision Products (Japan)

Charts on panels

3rd place: Abords et port de I’île Saint-Pierre (France)

3rd place: Abords et port de I'île Saint-Pierre (France)

2nd place: Tokyo Wan (Japan)

2nd place: Tokyo Wan (Japan)

1st place: The map of Northern Sea Area (China)

Highly colourful and visually stunning, this 3D depiction uses novel technology to provide a rich, immersive experience. Symbols are clear and the depth cues work well at different viewing angles.

1st place: ZThe map of Northern Sea Area (China)

Maps on panels

3rd place: The Melbourne Map (Australia)

3rd place: The Melbourne Map (Australia)

2nd place: Ecological Area Map of the Estuary Wetland of Dagu River (China)

2nd place: Ecological Area Map of the Estuary Wetland of Dagu River (China)

1st place: Fimbulheimen in Dronning Maud Land, Antarctica (Norway)

A huge map portraying a 600km Antarctic mountain range. The size of the map juxtaposes the sparse, barren, yet stunning landscape that skilfully combines satellite imagery with exquisite typography. Beautiful cartography.

1st place: Fimbulheimen in Dronning Maud Land, Antarctica (Norway)

Public Vote: Water Rhyme in Gusu (China)

 

Congratulations to all winners!

 

The international jury this year at ICC2019 was co-chaired by Kenneth Field and Ian Muehlenhaus. Further jury members were:

  • Kenneth Field and Ian Muehlenhaus
  • Temenoujka Bandrova
  • William Cartwright
  • Serena Coetzee
  • Igor Drecki
  • David Fairbairn
  • Georg Gartner
  • Amy Griffin
  • Anja Hopfstock
  • Lorenz Hurni
  • Antoni Moore
  • Dušan Petrovic
  • Hiroshi Une
  • Nonoko Tsukada

 

For a full list of map products exhibited during ICC2019, please check the PDF catalogue.

Recipients of the ICA Map Awards 2017

At the biennial International Cartographic Conferences, ICA organizes an International Map Exhibition, where map products originating from ICA member countries are exhibited. An international jury selects the best entries in six categories; in addition, there is also a public vote.

The international jury this year at ICC2017 was chaired by Kenneth Field (UK), who is also the Chair of the ICA Commission on Map Design. Further jury members were: 

  • Antoni Moore, New Zealand
  • David Fairbairn, United Kingdom
  • Paulo Menezes, Brazil
  • William Cartwright, Australia
  • Lorenz Hurni, Switzerland
  • Dirk Burghardt, Germany
  • Dušan Petrovič, Slovenia
  • Serena Coetzee, South Africa
  • Rosemary Wardley, USA (LOC)

Please find the winners of the ICA Map Awards 2017 below.

Atlases

3rd place: Grand Topographic Atlas of Catalonia 1:25,000 (Institut Cartogràfic i Geològic de Catalunya)

3rd: Grand Topographic Atlas of Catalonia 1:25,000 (Institut Cartografic i Geologic de Catalunya)

2nd place: Tactile Atlas of Switzerland (Switzerland)

2nd place: Tactile Atlas of Switzerland (Switzerland)

1st place: The National Atlas of Korea I (Republic of Korea)

A comprehensive, large format and very detailed atlas. The maps are well proportioned, clear and discernible. The highest quality throughout, accompanied by considerable graphs, accompanying text and infographics.

1st place: The National Atlas of Korea I (Republic of Korea)

Public Vote: Swiss World Atlas 2017 Ed. (Switzerland)

Public Vote: Swiss World Atlas 2017 Ed. (Switzerland)

Digital products

3rd place & Public Vote: Atlas of Switzerland online (Switzerland)

3rd place & Public Vote: Atlas of Switzerland online (Switzerland)

2nd place: Augmented Reality App Swissarena (Switzerland)

2nd place: Augmented Reality App Swissarena (Switzerland)

1st place: Minecraft® on Demand (France)

A wonderful mix of the real world and the popular world of Minecraft. An innovative idea that is superbly executed. Intuitive and playable cartography!

1st place: Minecraft® on Demand (France)
 

Educational cartographic products

3rd place & Public Vote: 3D Relief of Czechia (Czechia)

3rd place and public vote: 3D Relief of Czechia (Czechia)

2nd place: Historical Atlas of Poland for blind and visually impaired (Poland)

2nd place: Historical Atlas of Poland for blind and visually impaired (Poland)

1st place: genderATlas goes school (Austria)

A very well thought through mini-atlas that explores gender issues for women and men. This version specifically aimed at school children to promote understanding of equality and support research initiatives.

1st place: genderATlas goes school (Austria)
 

Other cartographic products

3rd place: Canton Berne – 3D printed Terrain Model, 1:25,000 (Switzerland)

3rd place: Canton Berne – 3D printed Terrain Model, 1:25,000 (Switzerland)

2nd place & Public Vote: Canal Full Map Long Scroll (China)

2nd place & public vote: 2nd place Canal Full Map Long Scroll (China)

2nd place & public vote: 2nd place Canal Full Map Long Scroll (China)

1st place: Psychogeography in the age of the quantified self (Germany)

Personal cartographies modelled from mental maps and movement data. A stylish form that builds art from the digital capture of our everyday activities.

1st place: Psychogeography in the age of the quantified self (Germany)
 

Charts on panels

3rd place: IFR Enroute Low Altitude – Alaska L-1 (Esri)

3rd place: IFR Enroute Low Altitude - Alaska L-1 (Esri)

2nd place: Stavanger Harbor with Seaward approaches (chart no. 455) (Norway)

2nd place: Stavanger Harbor with Seaward approaches (chart no. 455) (Norway)

1st place: Zhenghe Navigational Chart with an Ancient vs. Modern Comparison (China)

Innovative representation displaying two contrasting but exquisite cartographic styles, complemented by the rich, high quality materials.

1st place: Zhenghe Navigational Chart with an Ancient vs. Modern Comparison (China)

Public Vote: VFR Aeronautical Chart of the Republic of Slovenia (Slovenia)

Public vote: VFR Aeronautical Chart of the Republic of Slovenia (Slovenia)
 

Maps on panels

3rd place: Jenny Lake Hiking Map (USA)

3rd place: Jenny Lake Hiking Map (USA)

2nd place: The Olivine Wilderness (New Zealand)

2nd place: The Olivine Wilderness (New Zealand)

1st place: Relief MASSIF DU MONT BLANC (France)

A beautiful moulded model of Mont Blanc. The map content is well printed, avoiding significant stretching, yielding an evocative 3D, detailed product.

1st place: Relief MASSIF DU MONT BLANC (France)

Public Vote: Blue and White Dream (China)

Public vote: Blue and White Dream (China)
 

Congratulations to all winners!

All winners will be contacted to be featured in our Map of the Month section over the course of the next two years. For a full list of map products exhibited during ICC 2015, please check the PDF catalogue.

Photos and jury statements provided by Ken Field.

President’s Blog: A map perspective on the sustainable development goals

The Sustainable Development Goals, officially known as Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development are a UN Initiative. Official website: https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org

In the light of the International Map Year (IMY), the ICA and its commissions are highlighting the value of cartography by “mapping” the UN sustainable development goals.

In the past months, a set of posters has been created, one for each sustainable development goal. They do not map the goals and their target based on indicators as such. The poster series tells the story of cartographic diversity, of mapping options, and of multiple map perspectives. Each of the goals has been mapped from a particular perspective by different ICA Commissions. All posters have a short take-home-message that should make one aware of particular strengths of the map.

The posters as well as the catalog for the poster exhibition can be found on icaci.org/maps-and-sustainable-development-goals

A huge thank you to all commissions involved and to Wim Feringa from ITC for the poster design and production. Let’s make the world a better place with maps!

Menno-Jan Kraak
– President of the International Cartographic Association

Joint ICA meeting in Vienna, November 8–9

ica-commission-meeting

All chairs and vice-chairs of the ICA commissions and working groups were invited to join an ICA meeting in Vienna on 8–9 November 2015 to plan and discuss their activities for the term 2015–2019. 46 chairs, vice-chairs and members of the executive committee followed the invitation and spent two intensive workshop days at Technische Universität Wien.

Meeting participants

Commission chairs and vice-chairs

Working Group International Map Year

Executive Committee

Website

More photos of the workshop can be found on the ICA Facebook page.

Recipients of the ICA Map Awards 2015

At the biennial International Cartographic Conferences, ICA organizes an International Map Exhibition, where map products originating from ICA member countries are exhibited. An international jury selects the best entries in five categories. 

map-award_jury

The international jury this year at ICC2015 was chaired by Kenneth Field (UK), who is also the Chair of the ICA Commission on Map Design. Further jury members were: Derek Clarke, South Africa | Amy Griffin, Australia | Anja Hopfstock, Germany | Lorenz Hurni, Switzerland | Alexander Kent, United Kingdom | Takashi Morita, Japan | Anthony Robinson, USA | Vit Vozenilek, Czeck Republic | João Bosco, Brazil (LOC) | Luiz Henrique Castiglione, Brazil (LOC)

Please find the winners of the ICA Map Awards 2015 below:

Atlases

3rd place: Atlas of Typical Landform in Western China (China)

Atlases, 3rd place: Atlas of Typical Landform in Western China (China)

2nd place: Graphical and Statistical Atlas of Switzerland 1914–2014 (Switzerland)

Atlases, 2nd place: Graphical and Statistical Atlas of Switzerland 1914–2014 (Switzerland)

1st place: The Atlas of Cultural Heritage in the Netherlands (Netherlands)

A comprehensive, detailed and high quality publication exploring all aspects of the Netherlands. The maps are clear, clean and well produced.

Atlases, 1st place: The Atlas of Cultural Heritage in the Netherlands (Netherlands)
Atlases, 1st place: The Atlas of Cultural Heritage in the Netherlands (Netherlands)

Digital products

3rd place: BeCarto 14–18 (Belgium)

Digital products, 3rd place: BeCarto 14–18 (Belgium)

2nd place: OV-Map (Netherlands)

Digital products, 2nd place: OV-Map (Netherlands)

1st place: Project Supra: Real-time Heatmaps from Sports Workouts (Finland)

An intuitive, digital multiscale map that presents detailed information in a legible and accessible fashion. Interaction is key and design is stylish.

Digital products, 1st place: Project Supra: Real-time Heatmaps from Sports Workouts (Finland)

Educational Products

3rd place: Collins First Atlas (UK)

Educational Products, 3rd place: Collins First Atlas (UK)

2nd place: The Kakamega-Nandi Forests Puzzli (Germany)

Educational Products, 2nd place: The Kakamega-Nandi Forests Puzzli (Germany)

1st place: Enjoy the map – Krkonoše Mountains (Czech Republic)

An educational aid to understanding map symbology. A simple approach to teaching map reading techniques and alternative representations.

Educational products, 1st place: Enjoy the map – Krkonoše Mountains (Czech Republic)
Educational products, 1st place: Enjoy the map – Krkonoše Mountains (Czech Republic)

Other products

3rd place: Geological Textile (Japan)

Other products, 3rd place: Geological Textile (Japan)

2nd place: Belle-Ile: Relief map on demand (France / IGN)

Other products, 2nd place: Belle-Ile: Relief map on demand (France/IGN)

1st place and public vote: 3D View of the Beautiful Earth (China)

A combination of spectacular lenticular maps in a beautiful loose-leaf style presentation case. A lavish product with high quality design and production.

Public vote and other products, 1st place: 3D View of the Beautiful Earth (China)
Public vote and other products, 1st place: 3D View of the Beautiful Earth (China)

 

Paper maps

3rd place: Occupying São Paulo – An Augmented City Map (Belgium)

Paper maps, 3rd place: Occupying São Paulo – An Augmented City Map (Belgium)

2nd place: Panorama Map of Kanto Mountains & Mt. Fuji (Japan)

Paper maps, 2nd place: Panorama Map of Kanto Mountains & Mt. Fuji (Japan)

1st place: 3D Map Longyearbyen and environs (Norway)

A large format oblique view which represents the terrain in an attractive style. The detail invites you to explore. Artistic cartography at its best.

Paper maps, 1st place: 3D Map Longyearbyen and environs (Norway)

 

Congratulations to all winners!

All winners will be contacted to be featured in our Map of the Month section over the course of the next two years. For a full list of map products exhibited during ICC 2015, please check the PDF catalogue.

Photos and jury statements provided by Ken Field.

Get to know the new ICA commissions for the term 2015–2019

27 commissions and 3 working groups were elected for the term 2015–2019 by the ICA General Assembly 2015. We are currently in the process of updating the website to reflect these changes. Also some of the commissions are still preparing or updating their websites. In the meantime, we invite you to have a look at the short “Commissions at a glance” presentations, which the new commissions chairs gave during ICC 2015:

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Updates on the ICC 2015 Pre-Conference Workshops at the Federal University of Paraná in Curitiba, Brazil

Workshop on Designing and Conducting User StudiesAs announced earlier, the ICA commissions on Use and User IssuesCognitive VisualizationGeovisualization and Map Design invite you to the following pre-ICC2015 workshops at the Federal University of Paraná in Curitiba, Brazil on 20 and 21 August 2015:

The website cartografia.ufpr.br contains all the information you may need about the two workshops and also offers facilities to register for one or both workshops in Curitiba. We would like to ask you to register a.s.a.p. but, in any case, before 1 July 2015. Registration for our workshops will only be possible through this website. It is also important to know that you will have to book your travels and overnight accommodation yourself. The website provides information to help you with this.

President’s Blog: 365 maps

The ICA Commission on Map Design through its chair Ken Field has undertaken a unique exercise in 2014. They have identified, collected, described and made available 365 “good” maps. This is meant as having a repository of maps available that somehow exhibit quality design principles.

Or as Ken Field writes on his blog:

My hope for this collection is that whenever we are stuck for inspiration, or whenever someone says ‘show me a good map’ then here are 365 examples to whet the appetite. They represent as broad a definition of cartography as you could possibly see in a single collection. They’re authoritative because they’ve been compiled by cartographers. There’s probably some of your own favourites missing. Some of mine are too… but that’s not the point. It’s a collection that illustrates the diverse, rich world of cartographic design from the perspective of the professionals that inhabit that world.

Check it out. What is your favourite?

Georg Gartner
– President of the International Cartographic Association

Invitation to ICC 2015 Pre-Conference Workshops at the Federal University of Paraná in Curitiba, Brazil

The ICA commissions on Use and User IssuesCognitive VisualizationGeovisualization and Map Design invite you to the following Pre-ICC2015 workshops at the Federal University of Paraná in Curitiba, Brazil on 20 and 21 August 2015:

Workshop / training on “Designing and Conducting User Studies”

Come to the usability workshop to learn how it is supposed to be done ;-)

Workshop “Envisioning the Future of Cartographic Research”

Update: The website cartografia.ufpr.br contains all the information you may need about the two workshops and also offers facilities to register for one or both workshops in Curitiba. We would like to ask you to register a.s.a.p. but, in any case, before 1 July 2015. Registration for our workshops will only be possible through this website. It is also important to know that you will have to book your travels and overnight accommodation yourself. The website provides information to help you with this.

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