31 replies to this topic

[A. Fenix]

hello everyone,

something that i've been trying to get my head around for some time is what exactly gives someone the "right" to call their work "cartography" and themselves "Cartographers"? in other words, is there specific training/education that professionals need/should have before they can call themselves Cartographers? is a graphic designer's work a map illustration, or cartography? if a GIS professional makes maps of their data, does this then make them a cartographer?

also, are there any publishing or simply professional standards for how professionals with different technical\educational backgrounds should be credited in published work (i.e. graphic designers, GIS professionals, Geographers, Cartographers)?

My educational background is in Geography, Cartography and GIS... to me, this makes me "qualified" to proudly consider myself a Cartographer (as well as made over a thousand maps). yet, i have had conversations (i.e. arguments) with my graphic designer friends that make maps in illustrator and want to be credited as the Cartographer. i have told them that they should be credited as the Map Designer, not the Cartographer. i feel very strongly about this, and i think it may stem from me wanting to protect the integrity of our trade (and my professional livelihood). course, i have gotten so wound up in the divide between graphic design and cartography that i am only now beginning to learn graphic design applications such as illustrator to move my maps further along.

perhaps i've just been too sensitive and extreme in my opinion.

if so, i hope this forum can set me straight!

[benbakelaar]

ah, the chance to wax academic/philosophic!

i think people who have been through a rigorous cartography-focused education curriculum certainly have the right to protect their definition of cartography, and any attempts to exclude others from the practices of that field will just result in that definition/field being pushed further from the center.

i also believe that professional and academic field definitions often function as power structures that maintain a "closed"-source barrier meant to exclude others more than to "ensure quality". with society, business, and academia increasingly moving towards "open-source" and "transparent" as core values, it seems like arguing for those rigorous definitions will commonly be viewed as backwards and anti-progress.

welcome to the "mashup" generation.... there will be others with counterpoints to all my points, i am sure.

[Matthew Hampton]

A rich topic indeed (rubbing palms together).

Our GIS collegues recently settled this imbroglio with a GISP certification process. Since this just recently happened it would be wise to review the wonderful comments made both for and against this classification and "standardization."

First of course there needs to be a collective body to "ordain" or administer the certification, and I move that Cartotalk becomes that collective body. It could be NACIS I suppose - but opening it up to everyone for free voting priviledges (join Cartotalk!) is too good to pass up.

I think we should use C.A.R.T. as the acronym, can someone think of what it would stand for?

Is there a quality standard to call oneself a cartographer or are we all born cartographers?

[Sky Schemer]

What a great topic!

I would love to some day be able to refer to myself as a cartographer, but recognize that completing a GIS program (which I am currently enrolled in) and just making a couple of maps here and there for fun or for school hardly foots the bill. Any insights into what makes a cartographer vs. a GIS person with access to the tools and the data would be appreciated.

There do not appear to be many degree programs that have a rigorous focus on cartography, and I've yet to find any that have a distance-learning/online option (a must when you also work full time and can't just uproot and move). But maybe I just haven't been looking in the right places...

[benbakelaar]

I've yet to find any that have a distance-learning/online option (a must when you also work full time and can't just uproot and move).

Not cartography, but probably covers it in more detail than an undergrad degree. http://www.worldcamp...sterinGIS.shtml

[Sky Schemer]

Not cartography, but probably covers it in more detail than an undergrad degree. http://www.worldcamp...sterinGIS.shtml

I'm enrolled in the Master's program at NMSU, which has roughly equivalent courses, and a similarly limited number with "cartography" in their name.

Not that I'm not enjoying the program, mind you...it'd just be nice to find more opportunities for formalized cartography instruction, or for gathering some practical experience.

[Hans van der Maarel]

I think we should use C.A.R.T. as the acronym, can someone think of what it would stand for?

Cartographers Are Really Terrific

Yeah, well, I'm bad at coming up with good names...

As for when one is truly a cartographer, that's hard to say. I always considered cartography to be part science, part art. It's hard to judge art. It's also hard to teach art. It comes with experience... Just my 2 cents...

[benbakelaar]

How about Cartographic Aptitude and Reasoning Test? Sooo 1950s... straight, to the point, no frills or fanciness.

[ELeFevre]

Questions that come to mind...
If a graphic designer knows how to design a great map, shouldn't we focus on the map, rather than what to call the person who made the map? When we critique a map in the map gallery do we critique the level geographical literacy and qualifications of the "cartographer"... or do we primarily make design suggestions like a geographically illiterate graphic designer would do? Can you believe those graphic designing bast$%^s have the gall to call themselves cartographers! Anyone creating maps should be geographically literate, but whose to say who is and who isn't. There are plenty of "C" and "D" geography students who will undoubtedly graduate and start making maps. Do they have the grades to call themselves cartographers?

Rather than "cartographer", I've started using: "A resourceful bipedal primate who creates useful maps for food and fun, but can do a whole lot more!" I think Ben summed it up nicely with his, "welcome to the mashup generation" line. Right-on Ben.

[A. Fenix]

in the fear that i may have set off a battle, let me clarify that i was hoping primarily to see if there were any standards out there on how we credit ourselves in publications. they can be industry standards, or just what individual group members use for themselves. i should also add that even after all of the time i've spent creating maps, i still have SOOOOO much to learn! much, has been from my graphic designer friends (as in layout, colors, etc.). i have no desire to see a new "GISP" type system for cartography... as for the mash-up generation....

WHOOPEE!

than i can at times consider myself a graphic designer as well

something else to add to my resume

[benbakelaar]

well i think your first paragraph is what caught everyone's eye we all love to get on our soap boxes and reveal our inner philosophy. hopefully no humans are offended, hurt, or maimed during the creation of this thread.

[Rob]

yet, i have had conversations (i.e. arguments) with my graphic designer friends that make maps in illustrator and want to be credited as the Cartographer. i have told them that they should be credited as the Map Designer, not the Cartographer.

just ask them about projections. if they don't know, then they are just map designers.

[Nick Springer]

Indeed a great subject!

My educational background is in Geography, Cartography and GIS... to me, this makes me "qualified" to proudly consider myself a Cartographer (as well as made over a thousand maps). yet, i have had conversations (i.e. arguments) with my graphic designer friends that make maps in illustrator and want to be credited as the Cartographer. i have told them that they should be credited as the Map Designer, not the Cartographer.

While I have a degree in geography, the cartographic courses at my university were limited at the time I was there (the only official one I had was writing line simplification algorithms in FORTRAN). I did a lot of independent studies in Graphic Design, and for many years was solely a graphic designer. I eventually found my way back to maps and now make lots of maps for mass market publications without touching GIS or other traditional "cartographic" tools, and still spend most of my days doing user interface design.

Anyone think that I am not qualified to be called a Cartographer? I dare ya

[benbakelaar]

Anyone think that I am not qualified to be called a Cartographer? I dare ya

... well go ahead Nick, tell us about projections

[CHART]

There are no Cartographic professional associations that resembles professional associations like those for Surveyors, Lawyers, Dentists etc....

You don't need to pay professional dues to be called (or call yourself) a cartographer.
There is no 'deontology' for cartographers.

So anybody that makes a map can call himself a cartographer.