Cartography Crash Course resources
The following resources—articles, tools, tutorials, and more—accompany the Cartography Crash Course workshop from OpenVis Conf 2016, by Andy Woodruff and Mike Foster. They are categorized according to topics covered in the workshop, and offer some paths to learning about those topics in much more detail.
Other resource lists
Many of the links on this page were copied from resource lists that others have diligently compiled. In those cases we've plucked some mostly on the educational side of things. Visit these lists for much more, especially for links to technical tools and resources!
General mapping
Books
- Thematic Cartography and Geovisualization, Terry Slocum, Robert McMaster, Fritz Kessler, Hugh Howard. Comprehensive textbook on thematic mapping.
- Making Maps, Second Edition: A Visual Guide to Map Design for GIS, John Krygier and Denis Wood. A beginner-friendly overview of mapping concepts and principles.
- Elements of Cartography, Arthur Robinson, Joel Morrison, A Jon Kimerling, Stephen Guptill. A longtime standard cartography textbook.
- How to Lie With Maps, Mark Monmonier. A good guide to the biases and agendas in maps, and how to read maps critically.
- How Maps Work, Alan MacEachren. For the truly ambitious map nerd, a densely detailed book on how maps and our brains work together to form meaning.
- Semiology of Graphics, Jacques Bertin. A seminal work in cartography and information design, introducing the visual variables and much more on how graphical communication works.
- Cartographer's Toolkit, Gretchen Peterson. Handy reference for color palettes, typography, and other elements of map design.
- Designed Maps: A Sourcebook for GIS Users, Cynthia Brewer. A guide to good map design using GIS.
- Web Cartography: Map Design for Interactive and Mobile Devices, Ian Muehlenhaus. One of the precious few texts on map design specifically for the interactive, digital, and mobile age.
What is a map? What is GIS? What is Cartography?
Types of maps
Map design
Hierarchy
Visual Variables
Color
Data Classification
Scale and generalization
Map projections
Text
Geographic phenomena and data
Data formats
Working with data
Geocoding
Data sources
OpenStreetMap
General GIS
QGIS
What is a web map?
When should a map be interactive?
Building a custom map with Leaflet
Basemaps
More on web maps