How to Design a Map

From an ancient Turkish city dated as far back as the late 7th millennium BCE, to satellite images on Google, man has mapped his reality. Like the maps of old, modern maps attempt to convert a three-dimensional reality into a two-dimensional reference on paper. The space differences on a map as opposed to the real globe are only representative. Measurements of the earth and various locations on the earth are taken. These measurements are then recorded and uploaded to a database. Map makers around the world use and implement this data into their own maps. Currently there are a lot of methods for making maps, and this article will cover the easiest methods. You will learn to design two kinds of maps: a high-level map, and a low-level map. Today computers run the gamut for practically all forms of design, therefore this article focuses on using a computer for mapping.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Computer, PC
• Microsoft Visio (version 2003 or higher)

Desgin a high-level map with Visio

1. Open Visio and select Map from the Category list. You now have a choice of 2-dimensional or 3-dimensional maps. You can also choose between US or Metric units for measurement. For this article you will choose US.

2. Select file, then page setup. As most maps are horizontal, you will reset the printer paper size to “Landscape”. There are a lot of other options that this article doesn’t cover. If you plan on printing out a map bigger than 8.5"x11", then you need to change the size accordingly so you can design the appropriate layout in design time. Later, you can take your electronic file to a copy store and have them print out your file on a plotter rather than a home style printer.

3. Select “Landmark shapes” tab from the Shapes toolbox on the left column of the application interface. This is going to be an icon based map, meaning that you are going to populate your canvas with little icons that represent the contents of your map. In the window under the landmarks tab, scroll down until you find the compass (indicated by the letter “N” for “North”). Click on the icon for the compass and drag it out onto the canvas of the work area. Whenever you click on the icon you will notice that it can be expanded or reduced in size. You can also rotate the direction of the compass to indicate which direction is North on your map.

4. Drag other shapes out onto the canvas of your map. Populate the map with landmarks, including buildings, institutions, residences, and natural terrain. Draw out the corners of an icon to create a small or large body of water, cement building, or trees.

5. Plot your map with roads and streets. You need to drag icons from the “Road Shapes” tab out onto your canvas. If there is public transportation on your map, then you need to include some icons from the “Transportation Shapes” tab. The latter will quickly identify important rail road or bus routs on your map for your readers. Check your work. If you have any errors, simply move the shapes around.

6. Label your map icons. Click on an icon, then start typing. The text will appear on the icon or next to it.

7. Add distances to your map. Draw a line by selecting the line tool from the icons at the top of the application interface. You won’t need a map key for each of the shapes, as these are self explicit and labeled. However, you must provide distance in miles or kilometers for a high-level map. After you draw the line, unselect it by clicking somewhere else on the page. Then reselect the line and type the distance in miles or kilometers indicated per inch.

Design a low-level map with MS Visio

8. Open Visio. You will be prompted to select a drawing type. For this section you will select the “Office Layout” in US units. By default there are five shape tabs on the left. These include: Cubicles; Office Accessories; Office Equipment; Office Furniture; and Walls, Doors and Windows.

9. Start your drawing by dragging in some icons from the tab labeled “Walls, Doors and Windows”. You can start by dragging the “Space” icon out onto the canvas. By default this icon creates a surface area of 100 square feet (or 100 sq. ft.). This icon allows you to measure out a foundation for your floor plan. You can also use the “Room Measure” icon. Drag out the corners of the icon and watch the numbers in the center change. When you are satisfied with the square footage, click on the drop-down menu labeled “Spape”. Select “Center Drawing”. This will move your drawing to the very center of the page. This is good, particularly if you want to use various callouts for areas on your map, because by centering the drawing you will have even space on all sides of the drawing for writing notations and callouts.

10. Select the appropriate room shape for sectioning off your foundation into offices, meeting rooms, lunch areas, shipping, reception, etc. Default gives you three rooms to choose from: Room, L-Room, and T-Room. The first room is a rough rectangular enclosure. Drag the appropriate room dimensions onto your canvas, and lay it over the foundation you first set down. Notice how the square footage of the room is not proportional to the foundation you laid out? Don’t worry about the square footage of the rooms, because these numbers won’t show on the map anyway. The only number that will show is the 100 sq ft in the foundation you laid out in step 2.

11. Alternatively drag walls and doors onto you foundation if you are sectioning off a space that is symmetrical, like a giant warehouse. Asymmetrical buildings should be created by dragging and dropping separate rooms. Doors and windows will auto-lock into place when you drag them near walls or openings in the enclosure. If you are working with a structure that is very symmetrical, but has solid fill-ins like a second floor or a façade, then you can drag the “corner plaster” icon onto the canvas to cover the amount of square footage you wish to remove from the ground floor plan. This will appear as a square or rectangular mass of gray area.

12. Select “Cubicles” from the shape tabs. Choose from panels, cubicles and workstations to populate the office and production areas of your map.

13. Select the “Office Furniture” tab. Draw a table out for the lunch area or the main meeting room. Drag a reception desk onto the canvas, or whatever else needs to be on your map. You may even wish to select the “Office Equipment” tab for things like copiers to designate where the shared printers and copy/faxes will be located in your company. A good map can also help the moving company place your shipping in the right areas. The last tab to visit is the “Office Accessories” tab. This is optional, unless you need to specify the location of plants and light fixtures. Still, a few plants can help identify the entrance to the reception area, as well as distinguish the executive’s office suites from the employee cubicles on your map.

Tips & Warnings

• If you are drawing out a map for a building, before you drag rooms and shapes, consider whether your building is symmetrical or asymmetrical. This makes a big difference whether you draw or drop shapes into the canvas.

[c-to-the-m]

on 5/30/2009 I suspect the author of this article is not a cartographer. The first half of this article does not even mention the usage of spatial data, geographic reference, or GIS. The second half is simply a how-to guide for using a Windows based application to digitally represent the layout of an office. The article should be titled "how to draw the layout of an office" since it has little to do with maps other than it is a graphic representation.