Articulating Map Aesthetic: A Framework for Identifying and Categorizing Map Form and Eloquence
ISBN 978-85-88783-11-9
Authors
1Muehlenhaus, I.
1JAMES MADISON UNIVERSITY Email: muehleia@jmu.edu
Abstract
Every map is the culmination of different decisions made by mapmakers to communicate information. All maps possess a particular aesthetic, typically created by a mapmaker to help promote an argumentative position about a phenomenon. Though a wealth of research on map aesthetic exists, identifying and critiquing map aesthetic among more than a handful of maps has remained a largely elusive and anecdotal task. In this presentation, I argue that if we stop looking at maps as if they are fine art and instead view them as stories, map aesthetic becomes easier to deconstruct. Adapting and synthesizing several theories from the two most well researched realms of storytelling, literature and film, I present a new model for identifying, measuring, and comparing map aesthetic. It involves eliminating the distinction between map form and function (i.e., style and substance) as well as more specifically defining map aesthetic as map eloquence. Using this model may allow us to better critique maps based on how well their forms achieve certain communication and argumentative goals. Just as we can critique maps based on what type of representation they use given the phenomenon they are mapping, one can use the proposed form and eloquence model to critique aesthetic based on the mapmakerās intended audience and communication goals.