Find a map online--it can be a campus map, a map of the mall, a map of your hometown . . . feel free to think creatively about your choice. Critically read the map using the principles expressed by Barton and Barton. What ideological presumptions are evident from the map's design? Does it reflect the more inclusionary visual design the authors advocate? If you happen to choose the same map as another student, make sure to share how you agree and/or detract from your peer's observations. Please include the URL to your map.
http://iiewww.ccit.arizona.edu/uamap/campus_basemap_7-09_11x17.pdf
ReplyDeleteLooking at a map of the UA campus, I can see some of the principles expressed by Barton and Barton. The map is semiological; the colors of the buildings are to demonstrate their purpose, (academic, athletic, administration...) for surely no one would say the Chavez building is painted bright red. I can see that the mapmakers tried to "denaturalize the act of reception" by displaying a key in the top left hand corner and an index at the bottom. This enables students, parents, faculty, etc. to understand the map and "occupy realistic rather than imaginary relations within the social totality".
I'm not sure if the campus map reflects inclusionary visual design. I don't feel that there are "representational strategies used to legitimate dominant interests" or specific ordering techniques.
The map I analyzed was one of the White Tanks Mountain Competitive Track. For those who don’t know, the White Tanks are a mountain range to the west of Phoenix and this particular map details a trail system made for mostly for mountain biking. While this is a fairly basic map, it still contains many elements of Barton and Barton’s writing. For example, the first thing that I noticed was right in the very middle the words “White Tank Mountain Regional Park”. This reflects the ideology of privileging through centering. Obviously the name of the location which you’re in is incredibly important, so the people who decided to design this map put it right in the middle.
ReplyDeleteAccording to Barton and Barton, “Rules of inclusion determine whether something is mapped, what aspects of a thing are mapped, and what representational strategies and devices are used to map those aspects.” At this particular track, there is a fairly big wash in the middle of the park, which is unfortunately a spot where people like to party and play paintball among other various activities. Because of this, a lot of the time you will see lots of trash in these locations if the area hasn’t been cleaned lately. Regardless, some of the areas can get pretty trashed. But I don’t see those areas on the map obviously. “Feature maps do not show us what is undesirable. We never see slums, buildings in poor condition, suggestions of danger, the feature map is an optimistic world view, an image which focuses on only positive aspects of urban and in some instances, rural life.”
I do feel that this map has an inclusionary visual design. The designers obviously used ordering and various strengths of color to represent what were more important, hence why the trail is in black while the surroundings are in a light gray. Simple, yet reflective nonetheless. Referencing the quote Vanessa used, I do feel this map contains "representational strategies used to legitimate dominant interests,” and I think one can argue that any map contains those strategies.
http://www.maricopa.gov/parks/white_tank/pdf/2009_maps/white-tank-competitive-track-3d.pdf
By looking at the UA campus map, it is organized, but does not exemplify any inclusionary visual design. Categories are created by color coding the type of buildings and their purpose. However, the categories are in no way dominant over one another,they are simply different. As Barton states, "priveledging is also affected in a series through ordering" and by shading certain areas. This is not that case for the campus map. Its sole purpose is to help guide visitors.
ReplyDeletehttp://iiewww.ccit.arizona.edu/uamap/campus_basemap_7-09_11x17.pdf
ReplyDeleteThe map I have chosen is one of the Freestone District Park, back in Gilbert, Arizona. This map definitely contains some of the ideologies as presented by Barton and Barton. For starters, I noticed the legend in the top left corner. This legend was very intriguing because it contained so many shapes and colors and instantly grabbed my attention. When scanning the elements of the legend, I noticed all "positive and desirable" elements. The legend contained locations such as play area, BBQ, checkerboard table and used small, cute images to describe these locations. "It manifested an optimistic world view in its attempt to create a busier image so positive and intriguing that it will draw visitors." This was an obvious atrategy used by the creator of this map. The areas of the park that are of poor condition are not listed or the areas of construction (which there definitely are) are also not portrayed because they do not a serve a purpose for the manufactor, but would rather serve a purpose for the consumer.It would definitely be beneficial to know which areas to avoid. This examplifies the map as an "object of desire," "not an object of use."
ReplyDeleteAnother ideology I noticed was centering. As Nathan discussed above, how the title of his map was centered and at the top was an example of centering. However, in contrast, the tile of my map was listed in the lower left-hand corner. Instead, the center of the map contained pictures, in a light blue color, of two lakes. It was obviously placed there to "privilege" those lakes because they serve as a huge enticement to visitors. Lastly, I noticed the lack of the name of designer. It showed the "supression of the act of production," and the fact that the people viewing the map are viewed as consumers rather than users.
I do think that the map has an inclusionary visual design and uses several different "representational strategies used to legitimate dominant interests." For example, it enlarges the span of the lakes and uses blue because the creator knew that the lake serves as a dominant interest of the people going to the park. Overall, this map definitely proved several of Barton and Bartons' elements true and used various techniques when creating the map.
-Allison R.
http://www.ci.gilbert.az.us/eservices/parks/pdf/maps/freestone0408c.pdf
ReplyDeleteI chose the map of Disneyland!
ReplyDeletehttp://www.disney-pal.com/Disneyland/images/disneyland_map.jpg
I believe the map to be both factual and semiological. The buildings are drawn at an angle, so you get a very detailed 3-D effect; also, the buildings are the correct colors, and accurately represent the actual buildings. This makes it factual.
However, the scale is off for parts of the map. The vegetation depicted on the map is shown to be as tall as the buildings themselves. This shows a "scale discrepancy" between "the signifier and the signified," making that part semiological.
Similarly, I also believe that the roads on the map are the wrong color, although I'm not sure. Since I haven't been to Disneyland in quite some time, I can't say for sure, but I believe that the roads are different colors than those depicted on the map. Depending on what zone you are in, be it Adventureland zone, or Tomorrowland, or Fantasyland, the map portrays the roads as certain colors, namely green, dark brown, and pale pink for the three aforementioned zones. If this is so, then that aspect of the map is semiological, giving "the signifier and the signified...a conventional relationship" rather than a natural one.
As others have mentioned, centering plays a large role - however, in my map, the "Disneyland - The Happiest Place on Earth" sign was in the lower right hand corner, not the center. I found this very interesting, because according to Barton and Barton, "Because space is perceived anistropically, the placement of visual elements becomes a way of imparting privilege." They also gave three ways that cartographers impart this privilege - centering, placement on top, and numbering. 'Putting it in the bottom right hand corner beneath everything without any numbers' wasn't exactly on their list, so why they put the name down there I do not know. I'm guessing that they had the ideological assumption that anyone looking at this map wants to see the buildings themselves, rather than see "DISNEYLAND" covering the signs for where each ride begins, etc. Having it out of the way allows for better navigation. Each label on this map was placed likewise, putting the '--land' titles over ground or foilage rather than on buildings, and thus making the map a easier to use.
--Julia--
http://parking.arizona.edu/pdf/maps/shuttle_guide.pdf
ReplyDeleteI had never thought about the ideological implications of maps until I considered the ideas of Barton and Barton. I chose to study the map of the Cat Tran route because it is a map I use quite often and I am sometimes perplexed by it. This map identifies with the phrase "process not a product" because it requires looking at a chart in order to interpret anything on the map (63). Also, it is exclusive because for the most part, it only includes landmarks and streets. The routes are color coded, but the rest of the map is in black and white, leaving no room for the map to be an object of desire, but rather an object for use.
In my opinion, the map does not have an inclusionary visual design because it does not employ many of the visual cues that Barton and Barton discuss, but rather do employ characteristics of function. It reminds me of the London Underground Map (current) because some paths are not to scale or completely accurate of how the streets and stops actually are, because the underlying purpose of the map is to simply show someone how to get from point a to point b.
I am interested to hear how the class discussion will go on Tuesday because it is not obvious to me how traditional maps and map ideologies are a part of new media. When I think of new media and maps, I think of GPS systems and online mapping aides. I think that further discussion on this topic will help my understanding of maps as a part of new media.
Sarah K.
http://www.tucsonmall.com/directory
ReplyDeleteI chose to analyze a directory map of the Tucson Mall. The map is semiological. Different zones (also labeled by a large letter, A-D) are shaded orange, green, blue, purple, or pink in order to enable viewers to distinguish between them easily. The map also displays Barton and Barton’s’ principle of “denaturalizing the art of reception” by providing a legend with different symbols displayed throughout the map. There is also a complete index of stores in the mall below the map, which states the zone that each store is located in so that it can be easily found on the map.
I do believe the map includes inclusionary visual design, especially in terms of exclusion and repression. The only items shown on the map are the different zones, several large stores, atms, restrooms, and mall entrances. These are really the only locations that mall shoppers would need to find, and therefore any additional marks on the map would simply be distracting.
I chose a good old fashioned treasure map to analyze:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.fabricattic.com/Treasure Map T060860.jpg
The map contains all the typical treasure map features: a trail of black dashes weaves across the map to represent a path, a treasure chest is used to represent where the riches are located, a few large, black Xs indicate the location of a point of interest. The map's color, a worn out beige, is even used to represent the material on which map's were made on back in the day. Given these features, the map is mainly a semiological system; in reality there isn't actually a giant X of huge size where the map indicates.
"Centering" and other forms of priveliging played little to no role in the map. The most important feature of the map, or the treasure chest, was neither in the center of the map nor of a greater size than the other symbols. Exclusion is another technique that seems to not exist on the map, as dangers such as rival pirate ships and a threatening set of skull and cross bones warns the reader of unappealing danger. Even color has practically no role on the map, for the map is all one color and no distinction is made to visually indicate land vs. sea. Instead, the map uses ideological presumptions that an island is always surrounded by a sea and that pirate ships only exist on the water to differentiate between land and sea.
http://www.satellite-sightseer.com/id/4140
ReplyDeleteHi! So I chose a google satellite map of Old Tucson Studios. Pretty much this map is an accurate representation of Old Tucson because it's a photograph more than a representational image manipulated and drawn by people in power. Thus, it is factual down to the last bush, although admittedly it is still scaled down. This map does not include any inclusionary, exclusionary, or any other way of manipulating the map to emphasize one thing over another to a user. It is there for the purposes of showing what Old Tucson actually looks like from Bird's-eye view.
For my choice of map, I did not really know what to choose, so I made random searches in Google until I found something cool. And so I happened upon a map of the Star Wars galaxy.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.moviecritic.com.au/images/star-wars-galaxy-map-big-version-detailed12.jpg
The map is very extensive at first glance, but as I examined it more closely, I found out that that was the intent. Ninety percent of the map was made for purely aesthetic purposes. Out of all the different planets, there are only a few that have any meaning in the series. The rest were probably created right on the spot just to impress the viewer with the vastness of the galaxy. If you zoom in on the image, you will see that the cartographer did not even attempt a scale. All the planets are exactly the same size with many colored with very similar patterns. The positions of the planets do not mirror the chaotic, spontaneous nature of our universe. Instead they are arranged in a way to outline an elipse about the center of the galaxy. The cartographer had no attempt at heart to make the fictional world seem similary to reality. His purpose was solely to create an artpiece that would dazzle the onlooker.
http://www.campusmaps.psu.edu/print/pdf/extended_color.jpg
ReplyDeleteI chose a map of Penn State University! The map is largely semiological, as the buildings are various colors to represent their classification (e.g., residence halls are blue). Some aspects seem to be factual, such as the trees being green and the stadium having bleachers drawn out. However, one can be certain that the trees are not exactly placed as they are on the map, and that they are not a single shade of green (and not all the same size!). Not to mention, there are definitely more seats in real life than are portrayed in the drawing of Beaver Stadium.
I do not think the concept of ordering applies to the map I chose, as the buildings are in alphabetical order. I suppose one might be able to make the argue that residence halls are less important than the rest of the buildings, as they are listed last.
I find it very interesting to note how much thought and strategy really goes into the making of a map. I chose to analyze a map of a ski resort in Lake Tahoe, Mt. Rose Ski Resort.
ReplyDeleteAccording to Barton and Barton, emphasis is usually placed on important things by centering them. I noticed in my map that the words, “The Chutes”, are written in big letters and are located in the middle of the map. These chutes are extremely difficult ski runs that just recently opened to the public. The ski resort is advertising these new runs by putting them in the middle of the map.
“Feature maps do not show us what is undesirable. We never see slums, buildings in poor condition, suggestions of danger, the feature map is an optimistic world view, an image which focuses on only positive aspects of urban and in some instances, rural life.” In agreement with Barton and Barton, I would consider the map of Mt. Rose to fall under this quote. The map does not show parts of the ski resort that are closed due to low levels of snow, or other places that would be dangerous to a skier. Other parts of the map include color coordinating. For these reasons, I would say that the map is an inclusionary visual design.
http://www.mtrose.com/on_the_mountain/maps.php
I chose a map of La Encantada mall for comparison to Tucson mall. I found it interesting to see the differences in the two maps. La Encantada is an interactive map that allows the person to find what they want online, and not be bothered with extraneous material. The map takes a modernist approach, where "less is more", which differs from the Tucson Mall map where much of the information is included. The exclusion of store names, location of restrooms, and lack of color-coding, I think, allow emphasis on the searcher to look for only what they want. Not much is included in the map at a first glance, but using selectors and running the mouse over some of the selectors, the searcher can find all that they would have found on the map had it been presented in a form like the one for the Tucson mall. It is important to note that the medium by which the information is presented (aka over the internet, which allows for interaction) has a huge impact on the ability for the La Encantada map to be interactive. If it was a PDF file, I'm sure the analysis given for the Tucson mall would apply to the Encantada map. I found the thought of an interactive map and the ability to include and exclude details was interesting to bring up.
ReplyDeleteJust some other comments about comparing the different mall maps: Tucson has color, Encantada only shows a mild baby blue to highlight a searched store, they are presenting the organization of the mall and finding of stores differently. Encantada shows a better definition of stores, Tucson only goes by blocks of many stores that are color coded. That also has to do with how they want to present their information, what they include, exclude and choose to emphasize.
http://www.laencantadashoppingcenter.com/map.asp
For my map, I chose the world map to the video game "Lunar: Silver Star". It's common for video games to have a world map within the game to aid in navigation of often massive overworlds. These maps are generally a de facto representation of the world since they are meant to be used as a navigation tool. What drew me to this map was that it's a cloth map actually produced as an added bonus for buying the game. What's interesting is that it's actually an artistic, stylized rendering of the world as opposed to an accurately scaled-down version. It even includes artistic allusions to in-game mythos. Towns are represented according to their size/importance in the game, with a few not even being named on the map. This map is idealogically based instead of geographically based, and as such is more of an art piece than a navigation tool.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.rpgfan.com/pics/lunarsss/lsss-map.jpg
In the assigned article, Barton and Barton cite graphic designer Trieb who says "the rules of inclusion are clear: the feature map focuses only on what is 'positive and desirable'; it manifests an 'optimist world view' in its attempt to create 'a booster image so positive and intriguing that it will draw visitors'. I chose to analyze a map of the San Diego Zoo. The map exemplefies all of these characteristics. Each color coded section of the zoo is complete with tiny drawn images of which animals can be found in that section. The area around the map is also color coded and explains in detail what can be found in each area of the park. Each restaurant is labeled with a number and its own symbol on the map. Each animal and customer service has its own unique symbol on the map as well. Barton and Barton mention Huck Finn's ideological view of the color coded map. The San Diego Zoo map is not only color coded, but each color has a significance. For example, the Polar Rim is blue and the Lost Forest is green. The map's bright colors and easy to understand language creates an extremely positive image.
ReplyDeleteThe way the map is arranged also creates a type of desirable clutter; the park looks like it is teeming with activity while still appearing easy to navigate. Barton and Barton mention this "less is a bore" mentality over the modernist "less is more" thought process.
As for "hierarchy" on this map, there is not much to be said. Every restaurant and major landmark has its own symbol. However, the more popular animals are probably the only ones who are actually pictured on the map and the same can be said of the most popular attractions. Overall, the San Diego Zoo map seems to have been expertly planned - personally, it makes me want to visit!
http://www.sandiegozoo.org/zoo/zoo_map.html
The map that I chose to look at was the map of Magic Mountain in CA. It is a place I've been to many times, and I know what the park looks like when you're inside.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.sixflags.com/magicMountain/info/parkMap.aspx
I believe that this map is both factual and semiological. It is drawn to scale so that the reader will understand where they are in comparison to what is around them. However, the pictures are not completely accurate. There are no words written on the map: only pictures. However, it is an interactive map. When you click on the pictures then it links you to a site about that particular place you pointed out. This is a different map then what I'm used to. It is hard to understand if you haven't been to the park before, since there are no names or details around the pictures. The map would not be very effective it was printed out and not interactive.
The map I chose is a campus map of my church in Phoenix.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.phoenixfirst.org/LocationsMaps/Default.aspx?Name=locationmaps
The map includes a key and labels. The rules of inclusion it utilizes is the certain aspects of how it is mapped and strategies used to map it. On the map there is no color though and not much detail though. The synchronic perspective is used because the map does not show everything that is part of the church campus. It excludes things that are not desirable or not seen as important. The grass on the campus and other plants are not shown in this map either. Only a few buildings are labeled as well. The map could be confusing for those who are coming to the church campus because it's an aerial map so it does not actually look like that in person.
http://mappery.com/maps/Schonbrunn-Palace-map.mediumthumb.gif
ReplyDeleteThe map I examined is a map of Schönbrunn Palace, in Austria.
I feel like this map is factual as opposed to semiological because it is rather simplistic but the colors represent things which they actually resemble. For instance, blue represents water; green represents grass, and yellow represents buildings (which makes sense because the palace itself is actually a fairly yellow color.)
The idea of privileging through centering is lacking from this map because there is only a small identifying title in the lower left hand corner of the map, but nothing more. However, there is a numbered guide of all the important parts of the Palace in the form of a list. This list represents all of the places that the users of the map may need to find. This map focuses more on the process than the product because it requires the user to interact with the map to find what they are looking for.
I found a map of my hometown Beijing. Before I read this article, I have never looked at a map this way. In the article, the author said that in the process of projecting 3 dimensional objects onto 2 dimensional representations will inevitably involve distortion, as Harley notes, “can magnify the political import of an image, even when no conscious distortion is intended.” According to the map of Beijing, the Tiananmen Square is unconsciously magnified. One ideological presumption is that the map includes exclusion and repression. The density appears to be much smaller then it should be and not every single road is on the map.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.beijingtrip.com/beijingmap.html
-Duoduo
http://www.dnr.maryland.gov/publiclands/maps/merkletrails.jpg
ReplyDeleteI chose a map of Merkle Wildlife Sanctuary, one of my favorite places in Maryland. This map demonstrates an “optimistic world view” by representing only what is “positive and desirable” such as nesting areas and look out points. The map also uses “privileging” by placing the name of the sanctuary at the top of the map. The Merkle map, however, does not seem to include “the order of geometry and reason”. The map is not a topographical one, nor is it gridded. It does use distance indicators, though it is not drawn to scale.
http://www.beingood.com/images/knotts/knotts_map_2007.jpg
ReplyDeleteWhen I found my map of the theme part Knott's Berry Farm, I immediately thought of Barton + Barton's idea of less being boring. The map of the theme park is colorful, and seemingly bursting with various activities. Although it can be bothersome to the eyes at first, the map entices its viewers to go to the places it depicts. Everything is drawn in a cartoon manner, making everything appear fun and exciting. Colors also serve to heighten excitement. Although the map is not color coded, it does have fact based colors in places such as water rides (blue), surrounding grassy areas( green) and surface roads (grey). The map is not drawn to scale, adding to the fun aspect it attempts to convey, so not everything can be labeled clearly on the map. Instead, little labels depicting ATM machines, restrooms, and restaurants are posted on their respective whereabouts.
Priviledging through centering does not exist on the map because not one place is more important than the rest. I think the idea here is to make all of the park seem interesting and exciting, so no area is singled out in particular. Roller coasters are drawn larger to entice individuals, but they are not placed in any eye-catching formation.
Overall, the map serves to inform park-goers as to what they are able to enjoy and experience, rather than dictating where they should go, what to eat, etc. The park caters to an experience, rather than a one-tracked outting.
http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/world_cities/boston.jpg
ReplyDeleteI chose a map of Boston, Massachusetts. Thanks to Barton & Barton I don't think I can ever look at a map the same way again. Right when I saw the map I noticed that the map wasn't just of Boston but it was also of it's surrounding areas. Yet, Boston is the centeralized object on the map and it is colored yellow. This goes along with privilege that Barton & Barton were talking about. "Because space is perceived anistropically, the placement of visual elements becomes a way of imparting privilege." Boston is clearly the focus of the map and this isn't done solely by the large bold print "Boston" but also by the color yellow.
This also falls under what Barton & Barton were talking about when they gave the example of Twain saying that Illinois was green and Indiana was pink (or vice versa). Of course walking around Boston, everything wouldn't be yellow! Just like the highways and interstates are not blue and red. This was a part in centeralizing the city on the map, making the map easier to use.
The map itself does not have any buildings or landmarks besides an airport which is easily spotted out by a large red plane. However, this map clearly depicts the roads going in, through, and out of Boston and Boston's surrounding areas.
There are so many roads on the map that at it's scale is difficult to read because in order for everything to fit, it had to have been typed really really small.
Overall I would say that the map is both factual and semiological. It is scaled yet there is no legend or key.
I chose a map of Paris, France. http://www.congrex.com/eaaci2003/images/map-of-paris.png
ReplyDeleteThis map represents the less boring aspect of a map because it has color, although it's not as exciting as a Disneyland map, for being a city map, it has a lot of color. The key places are bolded so in that way it may have some bias representing what is "positive and desirable" compared to labeling everything. One strange thing about the map is that it does not have the Eiffel Tower anywhere on it. By highlighting the major tourist destinations, it makes it easier to find something to do. It also includes all the major roads and metro areas, catering even more to the tourists who need to find their way around the city. The different colors help to distinguish between different paths but also to make the map look more colorful and appealing.
I viewed a map of the land of Oz.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.bookwormlibrary.us/graphics/illustrations_notes/maps/oz_map_mashup_large.jpg
The map is surprisingly factual for a reference based on a fictional place. The cartographers were very meticulous with their keys and symbols. The map includes narrative features such as plants and housing to symbolize nature and the spot that Dorothy landed, respectably. There is a definite clarity to the map and it resembles the actual landscaping of the place. The map of Oz is also a collage not in a visual sense but in the way that in order to create it information had to be taken from many different sources.
http://iiewww.ccit.arizona.edu/uamap/campus_basemap_7-09_11x17.pdf
ReplyDeleteI would say that this map does not show inclusionary visual design. As Vanessa said, it doesn’t show representational strategies or have an ordering technique. Barton and Barton’s ideas are show in the map. Students and faculty can understand and utilize the map very easily. It is realistic, and utilizes colors for representational purposes and categories, not to show the actual view of the buildings (as can be seen by the key and index that accompanies the map).
I chose to look at a map of the internet as of January 2006.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.eee.bham.ac.uk/com_test/img%5Cdsnl%5Cinternet15jan06.png
This map actually doesn't include very many of the principles discussed by Barton and Barton. For one, the map doesn't seem to employ any sort of "privileging." The center of the map is simply the center of this web of connections. There is no central image that has the most attention drawn to it and there aren't even any words on the map to be emphasized.
The map is simply a tangle of lines that represent different IP addresses. Some of these lines are different colors, but since there is no key or attached commentary, I'm not sure whether or not this variation of colors is simply for aesthetic purposes or determined by some external factor. Either way, this is certainly inclusionary visual design because only one element of the internet is displayed by the map. Yet this one element is enough to create an immense, intertwined map that aptly reflects the nature of the internet.
This map isn't really factual or semiological because it doesn't outline an actual place, it is more of a map of an idea. However, the connected lines demonstrate actual paths that information travels along through the internet, making the map somewhat factual.
http://www.grantparkmusicfestival.com/the-park/map-of-millennium-park
ReplyDeleteI chose to analyze a map of the Grant Park Music Festival in Millennium Park. The Jay Pritzker Pavilion is the centralized object in the map and it stands out because it is lime green. The map is color coded with parking being in blue so as to easily be able to spot it because it is necessary to get to the event, and the various venues throughout the park are marked by pink letters. This is essential for this map because it isn't made to show everything that exists in the park, just the things that are necessary to the people who would need to use this map. This speaks to Barton and Barton's idea that "inclusion serv[es} to legitimate dominant interests," which "demands one of rules of exclusion and repression." Everything else is a beige color so as not to distract from the important points. The map is semiological rather than factual because the colors and sizes of things are not representative of their real life counterparts. It is considered a feature map because it does not show us what is undesirable. It serves a very specific purpose for a specific event.
Where would such a topic be without a map of Middle Earth? Granted, I’ve never actually read Lord of the Rings, but... that’s beside the point:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.middle-earth.be/Fotos/Map.jpg
Barton and Barton state that “the rules of inclusion determine whether something is mapped, what aspects of a thing are mapped, and what representational strategies and devices are used to map those aspects” (54).
‘Color,’ which was a big deal toward the beginning of the article, isn’t very prevalent in this map. It’s all about the same color, and little to no distinction is even made between territories. The lines seen traversing the map are rivers (which may or may not serve as boundaries), and all mountain ranges are recognizable. This map chooses to focus on the physical aspects of Middle Earth, which makes sense because the medieval setting of the story makes it hard for large settlements to establish. The lack of a need for symbols eliminates one presumption: that a certain symbol will stand for something. Instead, the presumption I noticed is that one will be able to distinguish sea from land by way of shading.
This map also does not reflect “privileging through centering” (55). The land being covered is of a size where the entirety may fit onto a decent map, so the center is merely what is at the center – in this case some mountains and a lake. Nor is what is most relevant at the top. The label is in the bottom left where room permits. It covers part of the large body of water so it doesn’t get in the way.
As for inclusionary design, I’m not sure. I suppose it does reflect more what they want, as no part of the map is really dominant over another. No political boundaries, color, scale, juxtaposition or anything else drew my eye to a particular part of the map. It’s just there as a tool, useful to both dominant and non-hegemonic groups.
“Wars of nations are fought to change maps. But wars of poverty are fought to map change.”
– Muhammed Ali
The map I chose was of the Universal Studios Hollywood theme park.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.universalstudioshollywood.com/visitor_info_interactive_map.html
The instant I looked at this map, I was reminded of a quote in the article saying that "the rules of inclusion are clear: the feature map focuses only on what is 'positive and desirable'; it manifests an 'optimist world view' in its attempt to create 'a booster image so positive and intriguing that it will draw visitors".
It is evident that they wished to draw the viewers attention to some of their more famous ride, such as the Jurassic Park adventure or Shrek in 4-D. However, it may just be me, but the map didn't seem to vibrant compared to other maps of theme parks that were posted. While they placed emphasis on certain rides, they didn't necessarily make them very appealing.
Ha. I almost did a map of middle earth.
ReplyDelete