Proposed Cartographic Design Principles for 3D Maps: A Contribution to an Extended Cartographic Theory

Today, the technical generation of modern perspective views (so-called 3D maps) for static, animated, and dynamic use is highly advanced. Nevertheless, aspects of the design of such views and of their impact on readers have rarely been investigated in cartographic research. The establishment of cartographic design principles is missing, to a large extent. Within the framework of a research project, propositions for such principles were derived by evaluating settings and options for specific graphic variables. Based on an inventory of design aspects and graphic variables for 3D maps, selected cues for two major design aspects (degree of abstraction and size of map objects) and five different graphic variables (viewing inclination, zoom factor, light direction, haze density, and sky structure) were evaluated by means of 3D map examples and expert interviews. A set of cartographic design principles was derived from this evaluation and proposed for more detailed user tests. The proposed design principles could also be seen as the beginning of a framework to extend cartographic theory and assist map authors in the iterative design process.