1. COLOR IN CARTOGRAPHY
Four color characteristics important in thematic mapping, meaning the psychological and aesthetic aspects of printed (NOT digital) color.
Color Perception
Sensing and cognitive processing of color
Color Specification Systems
The exact naming of colors
Design Strategies
Use color to its fullest potential in map communication
Cartographic Conventions
Qualitative and Quantitative conventions

2. COLOR IN CARTOGRAPHY COLOR PERCEPTION
Is more difficult
In low light (limits perception to achromatic)
On tiny objects (< .06 inch at distance of 12 inches)
For people who are color blind
Is affected by
Light sources (solar, flourescent, tungsten bulb)
Object surface (media)

3. COLOR IN CARTOGRAPHY COLOR PERCEPTION
HUE
Name of the color we perceive – red, green, blue, etc.
Most color wheels have 8 – 12 hues, no more than 24
The most complex maps (soils, geology) generally have ≤ 12 hues

4. COLOR IN CARTOGRAPHY COLOR PERCEPTION
VALUE
Lightness or darkness of color
Also called tint, shade, tone
Created by adding white or black to a hue
≤ 5 values of a color are the most that can be easily
distinguished on a map
Discrimination depends on background color – dark vs.
light

5. COLOR IN CARTOGRAPHY COLOR PERCEPTION
CHROMA
Saturation, intensity or purity of the color
Varies by adding pigment to gray
Chroma varies from 0% (neutral gray) to 100% - pure
(maximum color, no gray)
Hue affects chroma level – intense yellow appears
brighter than intense blue-green

6. COLOR IN CARTOGRAPHY COLOR PERCEPTION
Perception of a color is modified by its environment:
Simultaneous contrast – adjacent colors appear lighter in the direction of the darker color, and darker in the direction of the lighter color
Successive contrast – same color may appear lighter against a dark background, and darker against a light background

7. COLOR IN CARTOGRAPHY COLOR PERCEPTION
Warm colors: longer wavelengths – red, orange, yellow
Cool colors: shorter wavelengths – violet, blue, green
Children prefer warm colors, adults prefer cool colors
North American adults prefer these colors, in this order: Blue, Red, Green, Violet, Orange, Yellow
Greenish-yellow hues are unanimously disliked

8. COLOR IN CARTOGRAPHY COLOR PERCEPTION
For Children’s Maps:
Stay in the basic spectrum – blue, green, yellow, orange, red
Avoid dull, unattractive colors – stay with spectral hues
Children reject the gray scale – avoid achromatic schemes
Color saturation should be slightly less than 100%
Stick with the expected – water is blue

9. COLOR IN CARTOGRAPHY COLOR PERCEPTION
Colors in Combination:
Best combinations result from large difference in lightness (value) between figure and ground
Background color must be either light or dark
Pleasant figure hues are in blue-green range, or those with little gray
Unpleasant hues are yellow to yellowish-green, or those with considerable gray
Vivid colors combined with grayish colors form a pleasant combination

10. COLOR IN CARTOGRAPHY COLOR PERCEPTION
Advancing and Retreating colors:
Advancing colors appear ‘closer’ to the viewer than retreating colors
Advancing colors should be used for figure – retreating colors used for ground
Advancing colors = warm hues, high values, deep saturation (deep, dark reds)
Retreating colors = cool hues, low values, less saturation (grayish, light blues)

11. COLOR IN CARTOGRAPHY DESIGN STRATEGIES
The Function of Color in Design:
Simplifying and Clarifying Agent – differentiate figure vs. ground or unify various map elements
Contributes to General Perceptibility – lends legibility, visual acuity, clarity of differences
Elicit Subjective Reactions – people respond to color

12. COLOR IN CARTOGRAPHY DESIGN STRATEGIES
Developing Figure and Ground Relationships:
Perceptual grouping of colors is a strong tendency – similar hues or brightness, warm or cool colors, etc.
Since warm color ‘advance’ they take on figural qualities better than cool colors, which make good ground colors
Color combination affects figure and ground development

13. COLOR IN CARTOGRAPHY DESIGN STRATEGIES
Figure Color Ground Color
Yellow Black
White Blue
Black Orange
Black Yellow
Orange Black
Black White
White Red
Red Yellow
Green White
Orange White
Red Green
Best Worst

14. COLOR IN CARTOGRAPHY DESIGN STRATEGIES
Color Provides Contrast:
Contrast is the most important design element in thematic mapping
Contrasting Hue  clarity, legibility, visual hierarchy
Contrasting Value/Saturation  visual interest, quantitative information, high values emerge as figure
Render ‘far away’ objects in cool tones, close objects in warm tones
Legibility of lettering on maps is greatly affected by both text and background colors

15. COLOR IN CARTOGRAPHY COLOR CONVENTIONS
Qualitative Color Conventions (kind/quality):
Stick with hue variations only
Blue – water, cool temperatures
Red – warm temperatures
Yellow/Tan – arid and sparsely vegetated
Brown – land surface
Green – thick and lush vegetation

16. COLOR IN CARTOGRAPHY COLOR CONVENTIONS
Quantitative Conventions (amount):
Color Plan by David Cuff –
Use gray and simple hues only
Part-spectral – use two colors adjacent on color wheel, plus intermediate hues
Full-spectral – use a separate hue for each different amount (red – highest)
Double-ended – illustrate positive to negative values by going from one dark hue, through light values, to a second dark hue (i.e. red – blue)

17. COLOR IN CARTOGRAPHY COLOR CONVENTIONS
Quantitative Conventions (amount):
Color Plan by Janet Mersey –
Series of individual hues
Double-ended (same as Cuff)
Spectral – includes differences in value and intensity
Hue-value – light value of one hue to a dark value of a second hue
PMS value – different values of one hue
Gray scale – no hues used