Peterson G.N. GIS Cartography. Guide to Effective Map Design

2nd ed. — CRC Press, 2015. — 304 p. — ISBN: 9781482220681In the first edition of this book, I started with an explanation of how this book came to be. A lot has changed in the GIS world since the first edition of this book was published, particularly with regard to cartography and software development and the intertwining of the two. Map design has hit a new high and will continue to soar as design-minded programmers work to continuously upgrade the cartographic capabilities of our software tools. With more people than ever getting absorbed in the stories that only maps can tell, the audience has widened considerably, which makes our work more prescient, interesting, and ubiquitous. The talks and workshops I’ve given since the first edition was published have alerted me to one particularly exciting trend: an increase in the number of arguments surrounding cartographic design. These manifest in disagreements over whether traditional color palettes or modern color palettes are more effective, which software provides the most capabilities, what skills are needed to be a superb cartographer, and what exactly is wrong with all those bad maps out there. This dialogue, to me, means that people are seeing the benefits of effective map design and are caring more and more about how to achieve it. This second edition—which provides 24 updated examples, 20 new examples, and 2 new chapters—should further the cause.