Designing Better Maps

Maps lead marooned travellers through unfamiliar territory, arm the government with vital information, and guide school administrators to the best course of action. New from ESRI Press Designing Better Maps: A Guide for GIS Users explores the techniques of mapmaking and the benefits of using GIS technology and all its tools to create accurate, visually stunning maps.

Designing Better Maps guides readers through the steps of building balanced map layouts suited to varied projects. The book focuses on export options that users can edit in other applications and provides detailed instructions on designing powerful map layouts for reports, print publications, interactive Web displays, and other media. Designing Better Maps leads readers through the maze of essential cartography and layout design choices, including colour, font, projections, and symbology, to create maps that communicate their intended message.

Author Cynthia A. Brewer applies her extensive knowledge as a map and atlas design consultant for the U.S. Census Bureau, National Cancer Institute, National Center for Health Statistics, and National Park Service. She is an associate professor of geography and applied cartography at Pennsylvania State University and the designer and editor of ColorBrewer, a Web tool for selecting map colour schemes.

Designing Better Maps (ISBN 1-58948-089-9, 220 pages, US$ 24.95) is available at bookstores and online retailers worldwide or can be purchased at the website. Books published by ESRI Press are distributed to the trade by Independent Publishers Group (www.ipgbook.com).