Vivid Persuasion in Maps Presenter: Carolyn Fish, University of Oregon Vividness is described in the psychology literature as content that is “likely to attract and hold attention and to excite the imagination to the extent that it is (a) emotionally interesting, (b) concrete and imagery-provoking, and (c) proximate in a sensory, temporal, or spatial way” (Nisbett and Ross, 1980, 44). Despite other research which has made efforts to identify persuasive maps, the terms vividness has never been connected with cartographic design. This research presents on a survey which was conducted using Amazon Mechanical Turk and Qualtrics to identify the extent to which maps which are designed to persuade are vivid.
Cartographic Considerations of Mapping Global Variations in Avian Eggshell Colors Presenter: Phillip Wisocki, Long Island University Copresenters: Patrick Kennelly1, Indira Rojas1, Phillip Cassey2, Daniel Hanley1; 1Long Island University; 2University of Adelaide Avian eggshell colors varies based on biliverdin and protoporphyrin, pigments resulting in blue-green and brown colors respectively. The former is thought to filter ultraviolet radiation more effectively while the latter is likely to be darker and more effective at absorbing thermal energy. These colors correlate to latitude, and offer opportunities to use customized color palettes to map their global distribution. Some of the cartographic considerations in this research are approximating global distributions of egg color, accounting for the phylogenetic diversity and nesting types of birds, and utilizing a color model that accounts for how birds perceive colors.
Making Happy(er) Maps: Leveraging Affective Color Congruence in Thematic Map Design Presenter: Cary Anderson, Pennsylvania State University Maps of emotionally-laden topics are prominent in the media, from negative maps of gun violence to those depicting geographic trends of happiness. Despite the often emotive content of thematic maps, cartographic color guidelines still focus on kind of data (e.g., sequential; qualitative), and visual perception constraints. Yet colors—like data topics—have emotive connotations. Here, we report the results of a user study to assess the impact of affectively congruent colors—colors that share emotive qualities with the data they encode. Results demonstrate multiple impacts of affective congruence on map interpretation, including significant amplification of map-topic emotions.
Cultural Mapping: A Review of Cartographic Methods Presenter: John Kostelnick, Illinois State University Maps that characterize as language, ethnicity, and religion serve a range of diverse purposes for audiences including social scientists, government agencies, and the public. Aside from their societal significance, thematic maps that visualize ethnicity, language, and religion are prone to several cartographic design challenges given the complexities associated with human culture. In this presentation, I identify key challenges specific to cultural maps through a review of existing thematic maps found in prominent map holdings (e.g., Library of Congress), with a focus on contemporary national atlas and government agency maps. Prospects for improved methods for cultural mapping are also offered.
