A Transition in Improving Maps: The ColorBrewer Example

Abstract Many map makers seek to share their map design efforts by distributing styles, fonts, templates, software, tips, and other sorts of instructions. For example, offers links to a variety of symbol and font design efforts by mapmakers who use ESRI's GIS products. In this article, I will reflect on the format for offering map design assistance that I have used in ColorBrewer (Figure 1). ColorBrewer is a web tool for selecting color schemes for thematic maps. It has elicited a trickle of enthusiastic e-mail from pleased users who tell me that their maps are improved, and they are relieved to save time on a design challenge for which they are not confident of their skills. ColorBrewer is described in detail in two papers (Harrower and Brewer, in press; Brewer et al. 2003). It is described briefly here to provide context for my reflections on a transition in cartography toward assisting people who want to represent their information spatially but who have little or no training in the conventions and principles of map design and data representation.