Presentation by Benjamin D. Hennig at the first Neocartography Commission session is set to start directly after the Society of Cartographers conference, and will be held from 3-45pm to 7-15pm at University College London on Wednesday 5th September. More at http://www.viewsoftheworld.net/?p=2566

1. From geovisualisation to neocartography
Maps in a digital world
Benjamin D. Hennig, University of Sheffield
b.hennig@worldmapper.org | http://www.viewsoftheworld.net

2. From geovisualisation to neocartography
Maps in a digital world
I. Geovisualisation
II. Mapmakers
III. Mapmaking
IV. Neocartography?

3. Geovisualisation
Maps in a digital world

4. Geovisualisation
Cartography is dead!
Location, location, location!
?
Cartography as a discipline investigates the methods and
understanding of visualising spatial knowledge.
Geovisualisation, in contrast, is more widely understood in a far
more technical way.
I. Geovisualisation  II. Mapmakers  III. Mapmaking  VI. Neocartography?
Benjamin D. Hennig  Maps in a digital world  1st Session of the ICA Commission on Neocartography. London, 5. September 2012

5. GIS, GIScience, Geovisualisation, Geoweb,…
I. Geovisualisation  II. Mapmakers  III. Mapmaking  VI. Neocartography?
Benjamin D. Hennig  Maps in a digital world  1st Session of the ICA Commission on Neocartography. London, 5. September 2012

6. Mapmakers
Maps in a digital world

7. What is a cartographer anyway?
I. Geovisualisation  II. Mapmakers  III. Mapmaking  VI. Neocartography?
Benjamin D. Hennig  Maps in a digital world  1st Session of the ICA Commission on Neocartography. London, 5. September 2012

8. What is a cartographer anyway?
http://www.cartographymaster.eu
I. Geovisualisation  II. Mapmakers  III. Mapmaking  VI. Neocartography?
Benjamin D. Hennig  Maps in a digital world  1st Session of the ICA Commission on Neocartography. London, 5. September 2012

9. Open Data and Data Visualisation
US government initiative Data.gov (top left), repository Visualizing.org (top right), individuals’ projects Floatingsheep.org (bottom left) and
Flowingdata.com (bottom right) (screenshots taken from Bly 2011, US Government 2011, Yau 2011, Zook et al. 2011)
I. Geovisualisation  II. Mapmakers  III. Mapmaking  VI. Neocartography?
Benjamin D. Hennig  Maps in a digital world  1st Session of the ICA Commission on Neocartography. London, 5. September 2012

10. Mapmaking
Maps in a digital world

11. Evolution of Maps
I. Geovisualisation  II. Mapmakers  III. Mapmaking  VI. Neocartography?
Benjamin D. Hennig  Maps in a digital world  1st Session of the ICA Commission on Neocartography. London, 5. September 2012

12. The impact of the Internet
Britt, M. & WC (Wikimedia Commons). 2006. Partial map of the internet.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Internet_map_1024.jpg
I. Geovisualisation  II. Mapmakers  III. Mapmaking  VI. Neocartography?
Benjamin D. Hennig  Maps in a digital world  1st Session of the ICA Commission on Neocartography. London, 5. September 2012

13. Digital Cartography
A: Natural Earth geodata repository, B: Colorbrewer map colour guide, C: Typebrewer map typography guide, D: Indiemapper online cartography
application (screenshots taken from Kelso & Patterson 2011, Brewer & Harrower 2011, Sheesley 2006, Axis Maps LLC. 2010)
I. Geovisualisation  II. Mapmakers  III. Mapmaking  VI. Neocartography?
Benjamin D. Hennig  Maps in a digital world  1st Session of the ICA Commission on Neocartography. London, 5. September 2012

14. Neocartography?
Maps in a digital world

15. Neogeography
“Neogeography
combines the complex
techniques of
cartography and GIS and
places them within reach
of users and developers.”
I. Geovisualisation  II. Mapmakers  III. Mapmaking  VI. Neocartography?
Benjamin D. Hennig  Maps in a digital world  1st Session of the ICA Commission on Neocartography. London, 5. September 2012

16. Neocartography
“First there was neogeography, a convenient label for
the practice of geography outside of the formally
accepted geographical disciplines. A convenient
label, but one which caused some controversy and
mud slinging with the aforementioned formally
accepted disciplines being labelled paleogeography
and with a strong emphasis on the pejorative.
So it seems almost inevitable that we now have a
proposal […] form a commission on neocartography,
looking into the practise of making maps outside of
the formally accepted cartography profession.”
(Gary Gale, http://www.vicchi.org/2011/03/07/after-neogeography-here-comes-neocartography/)
I. Geovisualisation  II. Mapmakers  III. Mapmaking  VI. Neocartography?
Benjamin D. Hennig  Maps in a digital world  1st Session of the ICA Commission on Neocartography. London, 5. September 2012

17. Neocartography
“Thankfully there’s been no mention of paleocartography yet; it’s
to be hoped that with neocartography we look beyond the
label to what is trying to be achieved rather than fixating on
convenient labels and pigeon-holing concepts.”
(Gary Gale, http://www.vicchi.org/2011/03/07/after-neogeography-here-comes-neocartography/)
I. Geovisualisation  II. Mapmakers  III. Mapmaking  VI. Neocartography?
Benjamin D. Hennig  Maps in a digital world  1st Session of the ICA Commission on Neocartography. London, 5. September 2012

18. Neocartography
“Many examples of new and innovative mapping are being
produced outside the normal orbit of existing cartographers or
map producers. The term neocartographers is being used to
describe map makers who may not have come from traditional
mapping backgrounds, and are frequently using open data and
open source mapping tools. Another difference is in the blurring
of boundaries between map producers and map consumers.
The availability of data and tools allows neocartographers to
make their own maps, show what they want, and often be the
intended audience as well – that is to say they may make the
maps for themselves, just because they can. There is a real need
for a discipline to be established to study this essentially
undisciplined field of neocartography.
This new commission tries to stimulate and bring together
research in this area.”
(http://neocartography.icaci.org/mission-and-aims/)
I. Geovisualisation  II. Mapmakers  III. Mapmaking  VI. Neocartography?
Benjamin D. Hennig  Maps in a digital world  1st Session of the ICA Commission on Neocartography. London, 5. September 2012

19. Neocartography…and Geography
In a new approach to cartography we should abandon these
barriers between the technical side of cartography (which some
see as the science of geographical information, or GIScience,
with geovisualisation being a part of it), and the aesthetic as well
as more conceptual side that many 'traditional' cartographers
defend.
Contemporary cartography needs to be redefined according to
today’s challenges. This is a chance to revive cartography as the
main contributor to a new understanding of our world. As early
cartographers explained the world centuries ago by discovering
previously unknown physical spaces, it is now a necessity to tell
the stories of the spaces of humanity. One new role of
cartography is to contribute to an understanding of those spaces
that we still do not fully understand, and to analyse how these
can be visualised.
I. Geovisualisation  II. Mapmakers  III. Mapmaking  VI. Neocartography?
Benjamin D. Hennig  Maps in a digital world  1st Session of the ICA Commission on Neocartography. London, 5. September 2012

20. Principles of Digital Mapping
I. Geovisualisation  II. Mapmakers  III. Mapmaking  VI. Neocartography?
Benjamin D. Hennig  Maps in a digital world  1st Session of the ICA Commission on Neocartography. London, 5. September 2012

21. Neocartography…and Geography
“A lot of cartographers buried their heads in the sand in the 90s,
but now we recognise we need to find a better solution to make
maps work on screen. The essence of cartography is
communication.”
(UK Ordnance Survey's head of cartography, Bob Lilley, in an interview with Moss 2007)
I. Geovisualisation  II. Mapmakers  III. Mapmaking  VI. Neocartography?
Benjamin D. Hennig  Maps in a digital world  1st Session of the ICA Commission on Neocartography. London, 5. September 2012

22. Thanks for your attention!