Research On The Method Of Using Color In Thematic Mapping

The method of using color in thematic mapping involves cartography, chromatology, cartographic experiences theory, psychology of color and many other theories, it’s the most complex, but also the most effective way in thematic mapping. Throughout the domestic and foreign research, the achievements worked out by Cynthia A. Brewer and her team is the most systematically. This paper based on the color scheme proposed by Brewer, which finds out the way readers feel color from the view of cognizing map. It research into the method of using color in thematic mapping and forming a conclusive results, as reference for designers. The details in this paper are:1. This paper analysis the methods in color scheme and find out further solution needed in qualitative and quantitative thematic maps:in qualitative thematic maps, inspired by color convention, it find the association between thematic elements and color; In quantitative thematic maps, specific to the use of continuous/discrete scheme, it find the association between the features of quantity and color. It also proposed the significance of color preferences survey domestic.2. Designing the questionnaire, which investigate in the respondents with different gender age and professional background. The purpose of the investigation is to obtain the respondents’(i.e., the readers) cognitive processes and cognitive habits in map color selection, which also means the investigation in color associations and color preferences. Analysis of cognitive processes make map designer understand the association between thematic elements and colors in readers’thought process, which involves the cognitive psychology and the cartographic experiences theory. Analysis of cognitive habits make map designer understand reader’s color preferences and the associations between quantitative thematic elements and colors in readers’thought process.3. Using correlation analysis to verify the findings. This paper analyzes the correlation between different categories of respondents’findings, namely it analyzes the similarity of findings by different categories of respondents. Thus infers that whether gender, age or professional background affects the findings.4. the summary of the results show that:in qualitative thematic maps, the more obvious of the thematic elements’physical characteristics, the more trend that respondents select the association by similarity in mapping color expression; whereas the more obvious of the thematic elements’abstract meaning, the more trend that respondents select the association by contiguity in mapping color expression. And there is no magnificent association between different kind of respondents and their thought ways.5. the summary of the results also show that:in quantitative thematic maps, when using the continuous/discrete scheme, most of the respondents choose red stands for the highest number and the most concerned value; for the median and the moderate concern value, male respondents choose chartreuse and green, female respondents choose orange and yellow; for the lowest and the unconcerned value, male respondents choose green and blue, female respondents choose yellow and blue.6. The color preference results obtained from the survey show that:more respondents most like chartreuse, while they most dislike blue-purple, fuchsia, purple and black. In addition to this, male respondents’preference in turn from likes to dislike is blue, green, yellow, cyan, red and orange; female respondents’preference is yellow, cyan, green, red, blue and orange.