Smart Cartographic Background Symbolization for Map Mashups in Geoportals: A Proof of Concept by Example of Landuse Representation |
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Authors: | Nadia H. Panchaud Lorenz Hurni |
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Affiliation: | Institute of Cartography and Geoinformation, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland |
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Abstract: | Geospatial data are now widely available to the general public thanks to geoportals and online mapping platforms. However, creating a map involves more than just combining data layers. Thus we develop cartographic functions for geoportals to support better visual hierarchy in user map mashups. This includes a couple of preparatory steps followed by a smart cartographic background symbolization derived from the original layer style. We evaluate different approaches to background symbolization: greyscale, desaturation, and smart background. The different background symbolization methods are analysed with two concrete map examples and evaluated with a survey. The smart background symbolization developed in this work improves the visual hierarchy of the map mashup by reducing the visual importance of the background layers. |
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Keywords: | geoportal web cartography smart symbolization user map map mashup map design |
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