As you may be aware, one of my goals from this project is to provide a calm and relaxing take to fantasy mapping, and so I believe that it is important to explore the theme of aesthetics when designing maps as it plays a big part in this ethos.
Whilst I was conducting some research into the substance of wellness in cartography, I noticed an evolving pattern in map aesthetics over a number of years thanks to the work of some academic researchers. For instance, when I was exploring Alexander Kent's research papers on cartography aesthetics, I noticed a large amount of progress on the subject since the publishing of his first paper in 2005, when at the time, map aesthetics was not a commonly discussed topic and the academic community was beginning to explore the idea, to 2013 when a set of standards for improving map aesthetics was established.
I have also seen an increasing amount of interest recently in integrating social elements when we think about aesthetics in map designs. For instance, I had discovered an academic paper from Edler and Kühne (2022) that explored the subject of incorporating the philosophical aspects into our map designs. One of the things in particular that I found really fascinating about this paper was how we can associate the things that we relate to when we look at maps with a positivist mindset, and to see that there are new creative ideas and technologies, such as augmented reality, being developed to assist with this.
In terms of target audience, the academic research that I have conducted so far also suggests that there is a demand for content related to fictional maps, particularly in the realm of video games. For instance, many participants in a 300-person survey study conducted in Hungary (Albert, Toth and Szigeti-Pap, 2023) found the concept of fantasy maps to be the most aesthetically pleasing element in an open-world video game, with realism being a particularly important property.
Looking at the topic of linking fantasy maps with storylines, I also believe that Robert Roth (2020) provides an interesting insight into how cartography can play a part in helping to generate fictional ideas, such as those for video games. I believe that the main themes that I can relate to for this project are ensuring that the target audience plays a part in defining the aesthetics behind the maps, as well as designing maps around a positive mood and making things pleasant to look at.
And lastly, I found it fascinating that maps can be designed to have a relaxing and inclusive feel from a sensory perspective, as Alexander Kent's paper from 2019 described using tactile designs to improve connections to the person and make maps more accessible to people with disabilities, particularly the visually impaired. However, this area of research is rarely looked into, and I do think that the academic community could do more work to explore this area further.
So what are my conclusions?
Overall, I think that there is a surprising range of diversity in terms of how cartography can be made aesthetically pleasing, from the background and mood choices that underpin our map designs, to the sensory aspects such as tactile surfaces, and generally thinking about how people can be connected together in many different ways through fantasy mapping. Although I think that more academic research can be done to further integrate cartography and fantasy mapping with wellness, I believe that the current trend in map designs in general is to focus on integrating social and philosophical elements, as well as promoting inclusivity for everyone, especially among those with visual impairments that might find map reading difficult, as part of a creative approach to developing new maps.
With that being said, I plan to create a new series that explores my opinions on different fantasy maps that have been created by others, and have a go myself at creating some fictional worlds from different eras. Keep an eye out on this space for more.
Much love,
Jakub Puk
References that I used
Edler, D., Kühne, O. (2022). Aesthetics and Cartography: Post-Critical Reflections on Deviance and Representations. International Journal of Geo-Information 11 (10). Doi:10.3390/ijgi11100526
Kent, A. J., Field, K., Jenny, B. Hopfstock, A. (2013). Cartographic Design and Aesthetics "FAQ". Available at https://cartographicperspectives.org/index.php/journal/article/view/cp73-kent-et-al/html. Accessed 16 March 2023.
Roth, R. (2020). Cartographic Design as Visual Storytelling: Synthesis and Review of Map-based narratives, genres and tropes. Cartographic Journal 58 (1), pp. 83-114. Doi:10.1080/00087041.2019.1633103
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