Cartograms

QuickTime™ and a
decompressor
are needed to see this picture.

Anne Calabrese
Corey Grammer
Teddy Meyer
 Overview
1.History 2.Definitions 3.Examples

QuickTime™ and a
decompressor
are needed to see this picture.

US population

US population
History
1868- Emile Levasseur is
credited with the first
cartogram although this map
is considered a diagrammatic
map (diagram map not
related to physical
placement) and not a true
cartogram
1937- H. Gray Funkhouser QuickTime™ and a
decompressor
described these maps as, are needed to see this picture.
“squares proportional to the
extent of surfaces,
population, budget,
commerce of Europe. The
squares being grouped about
each other in a manner that is
in correspondence to their
physical geographic position.
 History

1897- Rand McNally produced a

cartogram of continents population
(left circle) compared to debt (right
circle)
History

This cartogram is one of

the earliest on the
United States. It
maintains the exact
shape of the outer limits
of the United States
while distorts the land
area, shape and
position within the
cartogram
 Cartograms
 A map that displays a purposely distorted
image in area or distance to represent
various statistical information (population
density, Gross National Product,) over the
appropriate geographic area.
 Cartogram maps do not depict geographic
space, instead the object size is changed to
represent the statistical information
(attributes) that’s being mapped.
NON-
CONTIGUOUS
CARTOGRAMS

Overlapping – The center point of the

object is maintained, resulting in an
overlapping effect when the image
expands or shrinks depending on its
attributes.

Non-Overlapping – The center point is

not maintained. Therefore when the
objects grow/shrink, they will also
move one direction or another to avoid
overlapping.
*(Distorts distance but enables
objects to be seen and interpreted
easier)
 Contiguous
Cartograms

The objects of the map remain

connected with each other, however
shape is greatly distorted because it
represents the objects attribute
(population, Gross National
Product).

Cartogram map with each county of

the U.S. rescaled proportionally to its
population. The additional coloring
attempts to combine 2004 U.S.
Presidential Election statistics on top.
Other Examples
Dorling Cartogram – Replaces the
object with a uniform shape (usually
circle) and depicts the circle size by its
attributes.

Demers Cartogram – Replaces the

object shape with squares, often
sacrificing distance to maintain visual
reference.

Psuedo (false) Cartograms - After the

objects attributes have been replaced
with circles or squares, it’s then moved
over a grid map for visual reference.
(Can cause latitude/longitude issues
with certain statistical data)
 Simple cartogram based on the proportion of total
population per state compared to the amount of
electoral votes the respective state has.

Very effective way to display this information, as the states which have the
greatest weight in terms of electoral votes, actually have the worst representation.
The raw data is interesting in itself, but the proportional size of the state
emphasizes the fact visually.
Two examples, both again of votes in the United States. First just
gives different options of sizing the different states by various voting
statistics. The second is much more interactive, giving you the
ability to actually scale each of the states, and move them around to
avoid having them overlap, which if not scaled correctly, will have a
lot of overlap. If each of the states are scaled at their centroid, then
overlap will happen.
 What your Global Neighbors are Buying

http://
www.nytimes.com/interactive/2008/09/04/business/20080907-metri
cs-graphic.html

Simple, but effective. This uses the world, but allows the
size/color to display buying and spending habits of some of the
major countries of the world. Effective in the message it is trying
to get across, as more prominent colors as well as the much
larger size shows the larger data.
More Examples

http://www.worldmapper.org/
-Some very simple animations that go through a timeline of sorts of four
different sets of data: Land Area to Population, Income, Internet Users,
Age-of-Death. It’s just a map of the earth, with the size of each country
growing or shrinking in proportion to the related data. In terms of an
interactive map, it is incredibly simple, with relatively no map controls, just
animations that start and stop at a certain timed pace. Their impact is great
though, as they are an incredibly effective way to display the information.

http://show.mappingworlds.com/world/
-Where the previous one showed a good quazi timeline effect, this one
is all about being interactive. Specifically this one is the world, but there are
options specifically for the United States as well as Japan. This map is all
about displaying cartograms for many pieces of information. It breaks up all
the countries, so with their scaling they do not overlap at all, and has the
mouse over effect that gives more detailed information on top of that. The
interactiveness of it creates an easier way to get the data quickly, as well
as gives a good perspective of the differences throughout the earth.
 Resources:

www.esri.com
http://www.ncgia.ucsb.edu/projects/Cartogram_Central/types.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cartogram
http://indiemaps.com/blog/2008/12/early-cartograms/
http://show.mappingworlds.com/world/
http://www.worldmapper.org/
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2008/09/04/business/20080907-metrics-
graphic.html
http://indiemaps.com/blog/2008/12/noncontiguous-area-cartograms/
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2008/11/02/opinion/20081102_OPCHART.
html