Author: Elaine GuideroPublisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :
Book Description
Maps are a multilayered semiotic system, and labels comprise an important part ofthis system. In addition to its utilitarian function of denoting information, type contributes tothe semiotic code of a map through its aesthetic appearance, often framed as typefacepersonality. Research shows that typeface personality its connotations influence how text isread and understood. On a branded map, typeface personality can influence the connotationof the map, and thus that of the brand or national mapping organization. Choosing type formaps requires careful attention to the characteristics of type that produce its personality. Pastapproaches to quantifying typeface characteristics have conflated aesthetic properties oftypeface form, called microaesthetics, with meta-properties of labels such as color and case.This conflation has resulted in guidelines that fail to address issues of typographic aestheticsin a meaningful and applicable way. This problem was addressed in a twofold manner. First,typographic visual variables were redefined as label properties, separate frommicroaesthetics. Second, a framework of salient microaesthetics and their associatedpersonalities was created in a multi-step research process. 36 typefaces were selected from aninformal poll of cartographic designers. In a web survey, graphic designers were shown thetypefaces on maps and asked to rank them on eight personalities. The microaesthetics ofselected letterform elements were tabulated and analyzed through categorical PCA and dualitydiagram analysis to determine which microaesthetics were strongly associated with the termstested in the survey. Strongly associated microaesthetics and effects were added to theframework. This framework allows the cartographer to evaluate the aesthetic aspects of type,and to accept or reject a typeface under consideration. Such a framework could help guidecartographers to better express semantic goals in a designed map.
