Mapbox Cartography Principles

Quick reference for map design, color theory, visual hierarchy, and accessibility.

Core Cartography Principles

1. Visual Hierarchy

Most Important Rule: Direct user attention to what matters most.

Priority levels:

• Primary: Main features (roads, labels for user's task)
• Secondary: Supporting context (water, parks)
• Tertiary: Background (minor roads, less important labels)

Tools:

• Size: Larger = more important
• Color: Brighter/saturated = more important
• Contrast: Higher contrast = more important
• Position: Foreground > Background

2. Figure-Ground Relationship

Make primary features stand out from background:

// ✅ Good contrast between features and background
'background': '#f8f8f8',     // Light gray
'water': '#a8d5ff',          // Distinct blue
'roads': '#ffffff',          // Bright white
'labels': '#333333'          // Dark text

3. Color Theory

Color Schemes:

• Sequential: Light → Dark (population density, elevation)
• Diverging: Low ← Neutral → High (temperature, sentiment)
• Categorical: Distinct colors for categories (never more than 7-8)

Rules:

• Limit palette to 5-7 colors maximum
• Use ColorBrewer for data visualization
• Test for colorblindness (deuteranopia most common)
• Avoid red/green combinations

4. Label Hierarchy

Typography sizing:

// Cities by population
'text-size': [
  'interpolate', ['linear'], ['zoom'],
  4, ['match', ['get', 'type'],
    'capital', 16,
    'city', 12,
    'town', 10,
    8
  ]
]

Label placement rules:

• Cities: Above point
• Roads: Along line
• Areas: Inside polygon
• Avoid label collisions (use text-allow-overlap: false)

Color Best Practices

Accessible Color Contrast

WCAG 2.1 Standards:

• Normal text: 4.5:1 contrast ratio
• Large text: 3:1 contrast ratio
• Essential graphics: 3:1 contrast ratio

// ✅ Good contrast for labels
'text-color': '#333333',     // Dark text
'text-halo-color': '#ffffff', // White halo
'text-halo-width': 2

Colorblind-Safe Palettes

Avoid:

• ❌ Red/Green (deuteranopia)
• ❌ Blue/Yellow (tritanopia)
• ❌ Pure color differentiation

Use:

• ✅ Pattern/texture in addition to color
• ✅ Labels for categories
• ✅ Size/shape variations
• ✅ Colorblind-safe palettes (ColorBrewer)

Typography

Font Selection

Mapbox fonts:

• Roboto: Clean, modern, web-optimized
• Open Sans: Highly legible, good for labels
• DIN Pro: Professional, geometric
• Montserrat: Elegant headlines

Rules:

• Max 2 font families per map
• Use font-weight for hierarchy
• Sans-serif for UI, optional serif for labels

Label Sizing

Base sizes:

'text-size': [
  'interpolate', ['linear'], ['zoom'],
  8, 10,    // Small at low zoom
  12, 14,   // Medium at mid zoom
  16, 18    // Large at high zoom
]

Data Visualization

Choropleth Maps

For area data (population, income, etc.):

// ✅ Use sequential colors
'fill-color': [
  'step',
  ['get', 'density'],
  '#f7fbff',  // Light
  10, '#deebf7',
  20, '#c6dbef',
  50, '#9ecae1',
  100, '#6baed6',
  200, '#3182bd',
  500, '#08519c'  // Dark
]

Rules:

• 5-7 data classes maximum
• Equal intervals or quantiles
• Include legend
• Show data source

Proportional Symbols

For point data (city size, counts):

// ✅ Scale circle size by value
'circle-radius': [
  'interpolate', ['linear'], ['get', 'population'],
  0, 5,           // Min: 5px
  100000, 15,     // Mid: 15px
  1000000, 30     // Max: 30px
]

Map Styles by Use Case

Navigation/Wayfinding

• Emphasize: Roads, labels, route
• De-emphasize: Buildings, terrain
• Colors: High contrast, clear hierarchy

Data Visualization

• Emphasize: Data layer, legend
• De-emphasize: Base map (grayscale)
• Colors: Data-appropriate palette

Storytelling

• Emphasize: Story points, annotations
• De-emphasize: Irrelevant features
• Colors: Support narrative mood

Reference Map

• Balanced: All features proportionate
• Clear: Good labels, readable
• Colors: Conventional (blue water, green parks)

Quick Design Checklist

✅ Clear visual hierarchy (primary features stand out) ✅ Limited color palette (5-7 colors max) ✅ Accessible contrast ratios (4.5:1 for text) ✅ Colorblind-safe colors (avoid red/green alone) ✅ Appropriate label sizes (scales with zoom) ✅ No label collisions (readable at all zooms) ✅ Legend included (for data visualization) ✅ Consistent styling (similar features look similar) ✅ Tested at multiple zoom levels ✅ Mobile-friendly (tap targets, text size)

Common Mistakes

❌ Too many colors (>7 categories) ❌ Poor contrast (low visibility) ❌ Red/green combinations (colorblind users) ❌ Small text without halos (illegible) ❌ Cluttered labels (overlapping) ❌ Inconsistent styling (confusing) ❌ No legend (data maps unclear) ❌ Ignoring zoom levels (too much/little detail)