South America Reference Map

GEOG 280 - Cartographic Design

The purpose of this activity was to apply the five essentials of map design (figure-ground, legibility, clarity, balance, and visual hierarchy) by producing a reference map of South America that showcases typical map design elements of a reference map (title, legend, scale, data information, graticule, neat line, labels, etc). I stylized all elements in Adobe Illustrator.

I first lightened the base map significantly to increase text legibility. I also chose sans-serif typefaces to give the map a more modern look. The title, country labels, and region labels are in all caps while the other elements use both upper and lower case letters. This creates a quick hierarchy. Most lettering is in black, except the region labels, river labels, and ocean labels. Switching up the colors helps the reader differentiate the labels from each other. The river and ocean labels are also italicized to align with the cartographic standard of italicizing all water bodies. To further improve legibility and contrast, either a drop shadow or outer glow was added to most text elements.