Carto SIG Annual Meetings and Map Awards

Annual Meetings

The first ESRI Cartography Special Interest Group (Carto SIG) meeting was held in the summer of 2002 at the ESRI International User Conference (ESRI UC) and has become an annual tradition since then. The number of attendees has been increasing each year. We invite all interested cartographers to join us in future meetings.

2007 Annual Meeting and Map Awards

2008 Annual Meeting and Map Awards

Thanks go out to the nearly 130 participants who attended the Carto SIG meeting during the ESRI User Conference. We continued with our expanded format to include sponsored premeeting social events with snacks and refreshments; we would like to extend a word of thanks to our sponsors, Océ (for the second year) and Collins Bartholomew! If you are interested in becoming a sponsor of future events, please let us know.

Carto SIG Map Awards

Last year saw the inaugural ESRI Cartography SIG map awards, and this year Carto SIG judges explored the entire printed-matter portion of the ESRI UC Map Gallery to find the best examples of cartographic work. A good number of strong maps made their way onto a short list. After consultations and lively discussions, three unranked awards were presented. Please enjoy the award-winning maps and the judges' comments.

	Tourist map of the Municipality of Tyresö, southwest of Stockholm, Sweden Map courtesy of Mats Persson and T-Kartor Sweden AB View Full-Size Map Front Page [PDF 8.2MB] View Full-Size Map Back Page [PDF 9.85MB] Judges' Comments This is a multicolor tourist map. It folds to about 6 inches by 10 inches. On the front is the urban core of the municipality, displayed at 1:10,000 scale with a detail inset of the Centrum at 1:3,000. The reverse shows the entire municipality at a scale of 1:20,000 and includes a regional map at 1:250,000. Overall, the layout is very good, with well-organized and well-constructed map furniture. In addition, there is a selection of clear, well-chosen photos of landmarks and the environs of this apparently idyllic community. Symbolization is well designed and clear without being overpowering, as are the color choice and employment. This is not a perfect map, but the identified shortcomings tend to be pedantic and do not distract from the map's overall usefulness and usability.
	Madagascar: Change in Natural Forest Cover 1990–2000–2005 Map courtesy of Mark Denil, Conservation International View Full-Size Map [PDF 38.7MB] Judges' Comments This is a 32–by–50 inch, single-sided, four-color map that folds to 8 inches by 10 inches. This map displays the most recent steps of a satellite-based, multidecade analysis of forest loss and habitat change in Madagascar, one of the most biologically diverse countries on earth. The judges' attention was drawn to the well-integrated design, which brings map, information, and design elements together as a whole. One feature of note was the time series shown in the upper left of the sheet. The ancillary layout—specifically the text and map furniture—was also worthy of comment. The judges did think, however, that a hillshade layer on the main map would have supplied critical contextual information. The provision of a separate hillshaded elevation map in part made up for this shortcoming.
	U.S. Electric Power System Map courtesy of Claude Frank and Erin Lefeure Platts (McGraw-Hill) View Full-Size Image [5.17MB] Judges' Comments This is a large wall map, about 42 inches tall and 76 inches wide, in full color. The map shows power generation and transmission for the United States of America, with size-graded and color-coded generation and transmission symbols. There is a tremendous amount of information on this map, organized into an effective visual hierarchy that allows relatively easy differentiation and visualization of the power system in terms of the network itself, geographic distribution, and jurisdictional contexts. Insets are provided of selected urban areas, and areas on the main map, for which insets are provided, are clearly identified. This map provides a useful and usable synoptic view of the national power grid.

2007 Annual Meeting and Map Awards