See, Think, Wonder - Part 1

Every map is a story that visually speaks each time we look at it. I engaged with this thought in my last post. When I began to approach maps as visual tools, I started spending more time thinking about how this powerful visual tool can be used in an engaging manner in learning.

As my area of study is - ‘How can maps be used as thinking and learning tools’. I decided to explore the first impressions of my chosen maps (discussed in the previous post).

Arun and Upendra, two Senior map designers at Mapbox engaged with the learning tool See, Think, Wonder, to unfold the various signs and symbols on the two maps -

1. Political Map of India 
2. Tata Airline Map 

The reason for using this See,Think,Wonder was to ascertain -

1. What do these maps convey at first glance? 
2. If these maps are effective as visual aids for the purpose they are designed for. 
3. What are the possible interventions to improve them. 
4. What are good practices in these maps that can be used as future references. 
5. What works for and against these maps as visual aids. 

We started off my colour coding our paper as Blue = See. Yellow = Think. Pink = Wonder.
The mapmakers poured over these maps, they dwelt on the various aspects of the map ranging from cartography, design, legends, fonts, colours etc. that are key elements of any map. And here is what they had to say when they used the thinking tool.

 

Map 1 - Political Map Of India 

See

• Both Arun and Upendra saw the clear demarcations of boundaries that established the idea of different states. 
• They saw that each State had varied sizes (area), and shapes. 
• They could differentiate between districts and bigger cities. 
• They could not see the Capitals of each state, as there was no highlight for the same. 
• They saw the various road networks within the countries. 

Think

• Both Arun & Upendra were thinking why the Capital of each state had not been highlighted. 
• They thought of the size of the entire North East in comparison to the rest of the states. 
• Why was Delhi the National Capital of the country though it was not in the centre.

Wonder

• Arun wondered about distances, and which roads and directions took a longer time. 
• Upendra wondered why though the maps were colourful, it has not used colour as a way of coding information. For eg. to explain population 
• Arun wondered of Uttar Pradesh had any hills at all or was it just plain land, and why the map was not telling his this. 
• Upendra wondered if shades of green could be used to show tree cover of different states. 

My readings of Map 1 based on Arun and Upendra's See Think Wonder: 

Upon reading the first impressions from both Arun and Upendra on this map, I concluded that the map

1. Provides a clear idea of boundaries between States in India, and their location. This is the role of a Political map. 
2. It does not provide well-designed information around Capitals. 
3. It does not provide an idea of distances between places, and any visual way of calculating the same either. 
4. Colours have been randomly used as fills, while they could have been powerful indicators to get across valuable information.

Map 2 - Tata Airlines Map (1936)

See

• Both Arun and Upendra saw the clear Title and Legend box that highlighted important cities of India. 
• Arun saw the routes of the Airline and noticed that it does not connect with East India. 
• Arun noticed that Bombay was an important, prominent city in the country. 
• Upendra saw that each place has pictorial highlights associated with things of cultural importance. Calcutta - Coal Mining, Bangalore Elephant Conservatory, Bombay -Yachting etc. 

Think

• Upendra thought the TAL map was fascinating, and it was a pleasant visual experience. Much information was available in one glance, and he felt this is an ideal map for kids aged between 5- 12 years as they are so pictorially aware at this age. 
• Arun thought he wanted to know more about why Jodhpur had a fire airport. 
• Arun thought that Bombay was easy to reach, and if that is why it was chosen as a hub? 
• Upendra thought this map reconnected him to his childhood.

Wonder

• How long it takes to travel the distances mentioned in the routes? 
• Why there are no boundaries between states? 
• Wondered why the States have not been named? 
• Arun wondered who will travel between Karachi and Delhi as the route looked so long! 

My readings of Map 2 based on Arun and Upendra's See Think Wonder.

Upon reading the notes I felt that the TAI Map -

• Clearly, depicts in what it set out to do. 
• It also makes an interesting reading as it lists more than mere map routes. 
• It provides options for further research as it sets the ball rolling, and leads to other inquiries. 
• It uses pictorial representation and icons to its advantage. 

Conclusion

Upon analysing the inputs from using the thinking tool on these 2 maps, I feel I have made some headway into my first question - What makes a good map?
I feel a good map should be -

1. True to its context, and try to include as much information as it can around the context. 
2. No one map can contain all, as it can clutter the visual and make the experience busy and distracting. 
3. Using colour as a code is an extremely useful tool. Colour/repeated patterns can correlate thoughts. 
4. Using legends and legible fonts that highlight important information is key. 
5. Distances between places need to be highlighted as it is the most crucial part of a map. Not only do distances give an idea of the world around, but it also grounds ones own place/ location in the map. 
6. Pictorial icons are very useful in a Children's map.

In my next post, I will move to analysing the maps I made, which were studied by Rasagya (Map Designer) using See Think Wonder. It will be interesting to see, how may maps fare in what I have defined as benchmarks of a good map.