Cartographic Techniques deals with the theoretical aspects of graphic design and their practical cartographic application. The course teaches the student to appreciate the influence of background and experience, and individual visual capabilities on the interpretation and understanding of spatial information as portrayed in map form. Cartographic portrayal which stimulates scientific exploration (visualization) will be discussed as well. The student will then study color theory and its application to map symbolization. File formats and format conversions will be covered, including importing an ArcView map into Adobe Illustrator with MapPublisher and improving on the maps' graphic quality. There will be an opportunity to explore a vast array of "innovative" map design techniques, created with the use of graphics and multimedia software, java applets, VRML, etc. The student will then create a home page and publish a map project on the World Wide Web. The course will culminate with student cartographic presentations using Microsoft Power Point.

Below are the topics and exercises for the course that can be found on the web:

• Syllabus, Spring, 2000
• Cartography Projects, Spring, 1997
• Cartography Projects, Spring, 1998
• Cartography Projects, Spring, 1999
• Cartography Projects, Spring, 2001