GIS, graphic design and detail

While the overall design goals are similar in both GIS and graphic design, they aren’t always exactly the same. One of the big differences comes in the amount of detail shown. In graphic design, a designer usually tries to get rid of any un-needed detail, while GIS people often to have the opposite impulses.This can be summed by a comment made by noted information architect Richard Saul Wurman. While touring the ESRI headquarters, he noticed the collection of maps on the walls, produced by GIS people all around the world. He advised GIS professionals to put less ‘stuff’ (a much stronger word was used) on their maps.

It’s true that many GIS people are inclined to add as much detail as possible to their maps. Speaking personally, skimping on the detail shown on a map can be a little difficult for me. It always feels like I’m cheating the viewer out of potentially very important information.

Growing up, my inspirations were the Rand McNally USA atlas and the Thomas Guides. Especially the Thomas Guides. These detailed maps covered the larger urban areas of the west coast, and the amount of detail NEVER failed to fascinate me. Street patterns, parks, schools and even the neighborhood’s shopping centers were all laid out before you. Regional malls even showed the building outlines and the names of many of the anchor stores. (This was in the days before Google Earth started giving us detailed looks at practically any urban area on earth.)

On some level, I wonder if I’m still channeling these maps today. Large amounts of detail on a map can be a double-edged sword. While more detail might cause some features to blend in too much, or even get lost, it can also be useful. You don’t always know how a map will be used, or what kind of connections or conclusions might be drawn from information that some might consider extraneous. Also, extra features can sometimes extend the usefulness of a map beyond its original intent.

Studying graphic design has given me a new take on the issue; it’s easier for me to identify instances of TMI (too much information.) Somewhere deep down though, I still have a vague feeling that I’m cheating a future user out of information when I decide not to show something on a map….

A GIS professional or a graphic designer?

Here’s your situation: you need to make a map, and you’re not sure who to call.

Or, You need to have a fairly complex map made, but you are not sure if your regular graphic designer can give you what you need, or give you what you need in a reasonably efficient manner.

Or perhaps, above all, you really need a beautiful product. You already have a person who creates maps for you and maintains your map data, but you’re not sure if they can give you the quality product you need.

Essentially, there are two roads you can take. You could call a graphic designer, or you could call a Geographic Information Systems (GIS) professional. GIS is software that, in a nutshell, is used to create and maintain geographic data and produce maps. It’s sophisticated software with a fairly steep learning curve.

While hardly an everyday quandary, there’s not necessarily an easy answer. Your solution depends on several factors:

Data: The biggest factor could be the data that you intend to use in the map. If this is a relatively simple map—where the data could be easily created on the fly—a graphic designer can probably give you what you need.

If, however, you will be using GIS data (typically referred to as shapefiles and geodatabases), you probably need a GIS professional, or at least a graphic designer who works with GIS or GIS people. Shapefiles (and geodatabases) generally can’t be consumed by graphic design software

If your data needs are relatively simple (a few roads, general landmarks, etc.), then a graphic designer could be your best option. In fact, if the data isn’t readily at hand, it could take a GIS professional just as long to locate and format the data used in a map as it would for the graphic designer to create it. Additionally, GIS data is (generally) spatially accurate, so roads and other features might contain extra points to maintain their true shape. This can—but will not always—take time to simplify for use in a simple product.

If instead you want to show a complex roadmap—where all or most streets are labeled—this could take a graphic designer a fairly long time to format. It could be even more time consuming when streets are symbolized based on their importance. GIS software can very easily handle these tasks.

Spatial accuracy: If you require a high degree of spatial accuracy (that is, the location of features that are placed on the map has to be highly accurate) , then you probably want a GIS professional. GIS data is usually—or can be—highly accurate. If your map is a simple graphic depiction or even a cartoon map, a graphic designer can produce what you need.

Data updates: If you are using complex information and you wish to keep it up to date, a GIS professional is probably your best bet. GIS software makes data editing very easy, and the format allows a number of attributes to be attached to a single feature. For example, a road segment could be attributed with its name, type (arterial, local, etc.), address range, presence of sidewalks, etc. The data can also easily be used in other products, and is, generally, highly flexible.

If your needs are simpler, you might not need to go to all of that trouble. For example, if your map shows a series of store locations, the data set is relatively small, and you don’t need to attach attributes (address, product lines available, opening hours, etc.), a graphic designer can easily accommodate your needs.

Production value: If, above all, you want a high quality visual product, you might want to start with a graphic designer. A graphic designer’s training will probably result in superior results. These skills aren’t always as strong in GIS professionals. This doesn’t mean a GIS professional can’t produce a beautiful map that communicates well, because they can: Take a look at the website of ESRI—the world’s leading manufacturer of GIS software—for some visually stunning maps. However, GIS studies cover many areas, and aren’t as deep in the area of visual communication. Sorry GIS people, I’m not picking on you; I’m just basing this on my experiences and personal knowledge. Additionally, graphic design software simply has better tools for creating a beautiful image.

Integration with other graphic products: If the map is part of a larger graphic program, a graphic designer might have an easier time making the map similar in style to the other graphics. While GIS does have some very good graphics tools, it is almost always outgunned by programs such as Adobe Illustrator. Additionally, GIS software (especially the ESRI flavor) is usually run on Microsoft Windows, and many graphic designers prefer to use a Mac. This can lead to some very practical differences in a small thing like available fonts, which can also contribute to a lack of conformity among your products.

Specialized geographic processing: If you need specialized geographic processing, you won’t be too surprised to hear that you’re better off working with a GIS professional. One example that comes to mind is what’s known as “geocoding,” creating a geographic dataset from customer or other addresses using aGIS street file. If you have any number of records, this could be very time consuming for a graphic designer. Other tools where GIS might have an edge include terrain modeling, line-of-sight analysis, and anything where you want to compute the most efficient route between places.

Of course, you don’t have to choose. You could always use a GIS person for the data elements of a project, or have a graphic designer edit and touch up a GIS map. This can lead to some headaches, but these are avoidable. For example, if a GIS person created the data, and you wish them to keep it updated, you have to be careful that last minute edits made by the graphic designer are communicated back to the GIS person. If a GIS person creates a map that is improved by a graphic designer, a whole new set of changes could (well, probably will be) required when the map is updated. Sometimes differing backgrounds can make communication more complex, but again, this is not an insurmountable issue.

Or, you could work with a person who has both GIS and graphic design skills and programs, giving you the best of both worlds.