Richard Eades Harrison - Map artist and cartographer
One of my favorite 20th century cartographers is Richard Edes Harrison.
RE Harrison created numerous maps for publication including Fortune magazine and published books. I like Harrison because he incorporates artistry in illustrative maps that in other hands would most likely turn out as bland info-graphics.
I was lucky to find a few of his maps at The Visual Telling of Stories by Dr. Chris Mullen. A great resource, by the way! Be sure to visit.
For example...
Click image for full size.
In his Map of Venezuela above the main map merges the precision of modern cartography with the blending of artistry and thematic mapping for the physiographic representation of mountains with elevation, as well as symbolism by including mineral products (oil, gold, etc.) To supplement the main map, there are three thematic maps that show population, states, and physiography. Thus the main map shows the overview spatial relationships of the map theme, and the sub-maps provide useful ancillary information that would detract from the main map's theme had they been integrated.
Sub-maps are shadowed to visually raise them above the map, as if saying this is additional information, not part of the map. Additionally, the inset globe shows where in the world this location is. Notice that north is down and mirrors the perspective of the view of the main map. I think this is a great educational addition to inform younger map readers and others who may not have previous knowledge of the geography of South America. It doesn't take much room, but can be extremely valuable to a certain segment of those who will be viewing this map.
Compositionally, the vegetative border does two things...
- 1) Artistic It gives a sense of the geography of the location by adding a tropical flavor to the map. This removes it from the purely abstract representation to make it more real. The map reader can imagine the felling of walking upon the land and what plants which one may come into contact.
- 2) Practical It serves to anchor the map by providing a visual barrier to prevent the mind from wondering up the map into Brazil or Columbia and the rest of South America. Instead, the reader is kept centered on Venezuela.
Notice, also, the use of color. Brazil, Columbia, and British Guiana are all cool colors that recede into the background, while the ocean in front is a warm blue to draw the reader in visually. How can I be sure this is intentional? Because the island land masses are a warmer pinkish red to bring them forward to the viewer. Furthermore, Columbia on the right side of the map becomes warmer as it approaches the ocean. So Harrison has essentially applied a gradient fill to the underlying land masses representing the background of his map. The color gradient is warm near the reader and cool away from the reader to create a feeling of the earth's curvature.
Finally, Harrison is sure that you don't miss the theme of the map, Venezuela. He puts the title in bold, bright red contrasting against every other object in the map. Color contrast in the title to establish the theme of the map is a technique Mike Reagan also uses.
Take the excellent map and provide elements that give a sense of the locational geography, in this case the vegetative border, and you have a informative, beautiful map created by a master of map information.
If you enjoyed this map, visit The Visual Telling of Stories to see more maps by Richard Eades Harrison and the A Vulture's View of Ethiopia on the Strange Maps blog.
