This short article seeks to identify the issues that make a map useful for users. There is a ton of well researched literature looking at the problem of cartographic communications. As radicals we are interested in designing mapping tools (whether paper or digital) that meet the unspoken needs of the users. Better maps create better opportunities for individuals to make decisions and explore the feasibility of various tactics.

Mapping software (e.g. Ushahidi) or the paper maps copies that are made available at every mobilization or mass event have paid little attention to cartographic communication and available resources have often been used as-is. Here we seek to explore some basic ideas from the academic field of Cartographic Communication to allow radical map-makers to generate maps that matter.

If cartography is a form of communication of a specific type of information, the measure of a good map is how well it conveys it to readers to enlighten, convince, or persuade. Too often the pure aesthetic appeal of a map is equated with its informational value. Aesthetic issues certainly play a role in effective cartography, but it is the issue of communication that holds the central role in cartographic design. To ask "what is a good map?" is to ask how well it communicates with its intended audience.

This means that one always begins a project by considering the message to be conveyed and the audience to be addressed. This raises a series of questions that must be addressed at the start of a project.

• The first is: What is the intent or goal of the map? In effect, the question asks what the reader should gain from the map or how the reader should respond. Motives vary greatly. Many maps are intended solely to convey accurate information about spatial relationships, others to sway public debate. For protests and disasters maps need a bit of both. A good map must convey spatial information. But this is not as simple as it may seem at first. The spatial information must include where something or somebody is and how best to get there. For example is the map mainly for people on foot, bike, public transportation or automobile types of transportation will not only effect the scale but what points of interest are more important. The political nature is also important. For example in dynamic maps, how big should the icon for adversary forces be, what color, and what about the icon for friendlies. What are the political goals of the map’s users? If it is an animal rights event what points of interest might be most important. How should these be highlighted should be a consideration of any cartographer. It may be useful to show the over all “gestalt” (context) of the area. Maybe socio-economic considerations are important for the users, maybe they want to do acts of solidarity or refrain from certain acts in certain unfamiliar neighborhoods based on politics, economics, culture or other considerations.
• Another question a careful map maker must ask is: Who will read the map? A cartographer must be able to identify the type of reader being addressed for two principal reasons. First, it is important to have an idea about what the audience is likely to know about the subject matter of the map. Second, it is useful to know how much background the readers have in using maps. Locals will need different information than strangers to the area. How comfortable are people with cartographic terms? What measurements if any are most useful to convey distance or scale, i.e. miles, kilometers or blocks?
• What conditions will the map be used in? This is an often overlooked consideration in developing maps. It is one thing to look at a map indoors in comfort, security, proper lighting and another outside, on the move, in poor weather, or in the dark. Weather can also effect a map’s readability and ability to communicate. How does weather effect the act of moving around in space, does the map adequately reflect this? How about social factors: is public transportation running; are there road closures; are there mobile obstacles; and so on. How does the map reflect this is important. Do users have time to comprehend the information being portrayed? Cartographers must try to best predict the real life conditions that could affect the use-ability of a type of map and the data points on it.
• How could maps avoid misinformation? Maps are created often in static environments at a particular time. Even dynamic maps have their parameters set to a specific time. How will time and changes be incorporated into a map, by the user or the cartographer or both. If users are expected to add to a map, that must be designed into the map.
• The issues of generalization, simplification, and abstraction Cartography is very much a process of abstraction in which features of the real world are generalized or simplified into symbols or key elements to meet the demands of the theme and audience. Not all elements or details have a bearing on the pattern or process being studied and so some need to be eliminated to draw the reader's attention to those facts that are relevant. Too much detail can hide or disguise the message of a map. The amount of detail that can be included is very much dependent on the scale at which the map will be produced, as the following examples demonstrate. A small-scale map of a larger area must, out of necessity, be more generalized. Some automated systems now have the ability to provide assistance in the generalization and simplification of features. If such routines are not available, you should study a test plot of your map at its final scale. If linework or lettering overlaps and blurs together, you should consider generalizing the features and reducing amount of lettering.

Fortunately there are a number of tools and strategies cartographers can make use of to build better maps. The information provided by user feed-back is perhaps one of the most important tools for map-makers. This could be surveys or even interviews combined with analyses of these creating greater refinements of cartography. We need to have a coherent understanding of these principles before we develop software or paper maps to ensure they will be most useful to users. Fortunately many of these changes do not require more resources to implement. The key is for us to know the various aspects and characteristics that go into making useful maps to maximize their impact on real people in real events.