When people write articles for ArcNews or other similar publications you can tell that, for the most part, they put 100% into the written word and maybe 20% into the graphics, usually maps, that go along with the article.
I was just talking to someone who does a lot of expert witness work, and he mentioned the oft-heard statement that a picture is worth a thousand words. He’ll create a lengthy document explaining the specific facts in a case and what does everyone home in on? The graphics.
Maps are so important to the conveyance of understanding. They need to be thought out with the same care and perfection that we strive to achieve with the written word.
#1 by Julie Kanzler on April 16, 2013 - 11:22 am
So true. I swear that they design the graphics so that they look good from 8 feet away. It’s like they think about superficial things like “balance of graphics to text” over the degree to which each graphic is meaningful and illustrative of the points they’re making.