Information Design

Map Design

Design Maps People Can Actually Read

12 lessons4 modules9h 35m durationbeginner level

Instructor: StretchLearn Faculty

About this course

This course treats map-making as an information-design discipline, grounded in the work of cartographers from Eduard Imhof to Cynthia Brewer. You will learn how to figure-ground a map so the subject pops, choose a projection and classification that do not lie, build colour ramps that respect the area-size bias, place type by Imhof's rules, and design wayfinding and illustrated maps with intent. Every lesson uses named tools, real numbers, and worked examples drawn from QGIS, Mapbox, and Adobe Illustrator.

Curriculum

Module 1: Cartographic Foundations3 lessons

Figure-Ground and Visual HierarchyPreview45m
Projections, Scale, and Purpose🔒50m
Generalisation: Deciding What to Leave Out🔒45m

Module 2: Colour and the Choropleth Map3 lessons

Normalise First, Then Classify🔒50m
Sequential, Diverging, and the Right Ramp🔒50m
Perceptual Traps and Choropleth Alternatives🔒45m

Module 3: Type on Geography and Wayfinding Maps3 lessons

Imhof's Rules for Labelling a Map🔒50m
Typographic Conventions That Encode Meaning🔒45m
Wayfinding and Illustrated Maps🔒45m

Module 4: Production and Export in QGIS, Mapbox, and Illustrator3 lessons

Designing and Exporting a Print Map in QGIS🔒50m
Styling an Interactive Map in Mapbox🔒50m
Illustrator Polish, Legends, and Map Credibility🔒50m