Maps can paint a pretty accurate view of our world or data, but there is a common reality of all maps: they are all incorrect. The world is in a constant state of change—rivers ebb and flow, things get built or destroyed, businesses open and close, people migrate, and the earth moves beneath our feet. This constant flux makes keeping track of everything time consuming and costly, but that is sometimes necessary. For most maps, using exact coordinates, displaying complex borders, and labeling every feature is not necessary. In this chapter, you will learn about the general types of maps, how to properly generalize data, and make your data stand out and easy to read.
In this chapter, we will cover the following topics:
- The different styles of maps
- Changing data to make more it more legible
- Aggregating data