---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Wed, 9 Sep 1998 23:17:39 -0600 From: Dennis McClendon <[log in to unmask]> To: Maps and Air Photo Systems Forum <[log in to unmask]> Subject: Re: Cartographic standards (fwd) >Is there an accepted cartographic standard or convention on how to label >a road running north and south? Looks like USGS, Natl Geographic, and Rand McNally all do it south to north, so I guess that determines a standard, at least for the US. So do Michelin, ACSC, CSAA, National AAA, and so did Gousha. Hallwag seems to follow suit, but I can't find anything perfectly vertical on the Ordnance Survey sheets at hand to determine what rule it follows. It's frustrating that such a basic question is nowhere discussed in Robinson's _The Look of Maps_ or _Elements of Cartography_. The latter does give a reference I don't have available: --Imhof, Eduard. "Positioning Names on Maps," The American Cartographer 2, no 2 (1975): 128. In a larger sense, I continue to be frustrated by the lack of attention given practical cartographic design issues--and street maps seem to be the least discussed of all. Alex Tait and I are both giving little talks on street maps at the upcoming NACIS conference, but why are the 90 percent of maps that the general public uses so overlooked while yet another study examines eye-movement in choropleth maps or yet another review of the literature on automated generalization in GIS? :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Dennis McClendon, Chicago CartoGraphics [log in to unmask]