Typography (cartography)

For most of the history of Cartography, the text on maps was hand drawn, and Calligraphy was an essential part of the skill set of the cartographer.

This did not change with the advent of printing in the 15th Century, because the dispersed placement of the text did not lend itself to the use of Movable type.

Text styles frequently changed with the tastes of the time, but were often very ornate, especially in non-map elements such as the title.

[3] Imhof analyzed the best maps he could find, such as the Swisstopo topographic maps, deriving a set of general principles and guidelines for type design and placement, which subsequent research has largely corroborated and further developed, and which forms the core canon on the topic found in modern cartography textbooks.

In 1972, Pinhas Yoeli began to codify Imhof's guidelines mathematically, setting the stage for Automatic label placement.

[11] In his 1962 paper, Imhof reiterated the primary importance of legibility, and added the following requirements (listed here with modern terminology); he then showed how most specific guidelines and practices are derived from these principles:[3] In subsequent literature, textbooks, and the GIS&T Body of Knowledge, legibility, association, and hierarchy are typically listed as the most crucial of these aims, while conflict avoidance is one of the core foundations of Automatic label placement.

[12] Many of the aspects of type styling can be chosen and controlled by the cartographer when designing a particular label to serve the above purposes.

[3] Since then, there has been surprisingly little research into the validity of these rules, especially compared to the numerous psychophysical studies examining many other parts of the map.

[5] That said, the durability of many of them, in the face of sweeping changes in technology and the capabilities of textual design, and their continued use in professional practice, points to their strength.

These guidelines also apply to clusters of points or small areas being labeled as a single feature, such as an island chain.

[21] Text can be modeled as a Geometric primitive, like points, lines, and polygons, and in graphics software, it is stored in the map document in the same way as other geometry, allowing for manual editing of content, position, and style.

An example of a cartographic style guide for a particular institution, including typography standards.
Abraham Ortelius map of Europe, about 1600, produced (including text) by copper engraving.
In this map of Bryce Canyon National Park , Utah , most of the text identifies features, but there is also text that proscribes ("No Trailers"), describes ("private property"), categorizes ("... Canyon"), and locates ("Paunsaugunt Plateau"). The typeface subtly characterizes the map, being consistently used on all maps and publications of the U.S. National Park Service .
Typographic style variables commonly used in maps
CIA Map of Peru , generally following standard guidelines for point, line, and area labels. Several exceptions were made to those guidelines when the situation necessitated such.