Learn how to really display your spatial information. Great collection of resources on how to display colors, create an amazing layout and what information to show.

What’s in a Map?
What really makes a map? Find out the required elements that should be placed on all maps you make.

Principles of Cartographic Design
Summary of principles from a 1999 British Cartographic Society Design Group meeting at Glasgow University.

Power of Mapping
Maps are a powerful tool in spatial analysis, helping problem solvers on many levels.

CartoTalk
A public forum for cartography and design. Join the discussion and post questions, ideas, and tutorials.

Collecting Antique Maps – A Beginner’s Guide
Learn how to get into the antique map collection field through this article by Neil Street of VintageMaps.com.

How Useful is Tufte for Making Maps?
John Krygier, in a post called “How Useful is Tufte for Making Maps?“, takes a look at Edward Tufte’s visual design book, “The Visual Display of Quantitative Information”from the viewpoint of how helpful it is in map making

Making Maps Easier to Read
Synthesis of research project on visualization concepts in map making.

Map Libraries
Looking for a map? Browse these map libraries to find contemporary and historic maps.

Relief Shading
Relief shading involves the use of shadows to emphasize the topography of a terrain. In GIS, most often this involves the use of a digital elevation model (DEM) that has undergone a technique called hillshading. The variation in shadowing gives the elevation a 3D effect and helps put into context how hilly or flat a geographic area is. There are different methods for achieving a shaded relief map and resources for understanding this cartographic technique are listed here.

TypeBrewer
TypeBrewer is a Flash application that “offers a quick and easy way to explore typographic alternatives and see the impact that various elements of type have on the overall look and feel of a map.“  The application allows your to play around with different fonts, sizes, label densities and font tracking to get a better understanding of how different fonts will look on a map.  Users can select between classic, formal, informal and contemporary style labeling. Click on the “learn more” link to see a brief outline of typography on maps. Once you’ve played around with TypeBrewer take the survey and provide your input. (Seen via The Map Room)