3D cartography: thinking beyond visual impact
ISBN 978-85-88783-11-9
Authors
1Field, K.
1ESRI Email: kfield@esri.com
Abstract
Cartographers strive for their work to be seen and to be seen as interesting, innovative even. In so doing, we often develop ways of practicing our art that capture the imagination of our readers by turning to techniques that provide more immediate visual impact and which challenges traditional approaches. We often go beyond the planimetric and play with soundscapes, animation and the third dimension. We capture height information in so much of what we survey and the third dimension of topography has been successfully mapped over the years but ‘height’ can represent all manner of variables. Thematics, in particular, have been created that communicate alternative variables onto the third dimension. Mapping, then is more than x, y…it’s x, y, z (and often t) and what we represent on the z axis can vary dramatically. But do new techniques and new mediums offer us any real advantage? How do new ways of seeing the third dimension add to our design armoury and is 3D really of significant value to cartography? In this research, I briefly explore some of the history of 3D mapping by discussing some classic examples and why they were successful in design terms. I then focus on contemporary work, including many original examples, and discuss how the language of cartography can be spoken in the third dimension and how our traditional understanding of visual variables can be developed. The intent here is to provide a context for seeing how our understanding of cartography can be challenged and also modified when we map in 3D. This goes beyond an attempt to use 3D simply to capture attention, but to see how it can be used to add value to our information products; to encourage a more immersive mapping experience for the user; and show how cartography itself can modernize as new possibilities for design and production emerge from the rapid technological changes we’ve seen in recent years.