My first book, GIS Cartography: A Guide to Effective Map Design, lays out the methods for creating great maps in terms of creativity, color, typefaces, layout, and data-specific recommendations (geology, political boundaries, elevation, to name a few). It has received a lot of praise. There’s also been a few naysayers out there who are mostly hung-up on its practicality and who would rather see cartography highly systematized.

There are always a few people at the very ends of the spectrum: those who feel cartography is primarily an art and those who feel it is a science. Those on the art-side think that teaching cartography or receiving degrees in it is ridiculous, let alone PhDs. Those on the science side would rather that nobody practice cartography without a thorough understanding (read: traditional learning) and application of the rules and theory.

The majority of map makers today are in-between these two camps both in their allegiance and their practices. Cartographers really need to remain open-minded about both the art and the science sides of cartography. To be receptive of the art-side is to accept that the best innovations spring from unforeseen places. To learn the science is to make life easier for both yourself and your map readers by applying common standards.

The book makes this distinction, encouraging the blending of both camps into your professional life for superior outputs.