SEGD_Design - (Page 69) New Dimensions A National Park Service study confirms that 3D maps benefit most novice users. BY PAT MATSON KNAPP hree-dimensional maps help users more accurately identify their position on the landscape compared to their 2D counterparts, and are preferred by younger users, women, and non-native English speakers, according to a recent study by the National Park Service. And while the study concluded that older respondents, men, and native English speakers generally prefer 2D maps, it also showed that 3D features attract more users overall to actually read trailhead maps and keep their attention for longer than 2D maps. “The conventional wisdom among the mapmaking community was that 3D maps are easier to read for novice map readers, which comprise the majority of the population visiting our national parks,” says Tom Patterson, senior cartographer with the National Park Service’s Harpers Ferry Center, the park system’s interpretive design center. But Patterson found scant literature on the topic so, during his presentation at an international map conference in 2004, he outlined a methodology for comparing the effectiveness of the two types of maps, and sought researchers to undertake the study in a U.S. national park setting. In September 2006 the users study was conducted at Utah’s Zion National Park. The results, says Patterson, both confirmed and challenged his assumptions about 3D maps. T Conventional 2D maps (left) depict the landscape from a point directly overhead. 3D maps depict the landscape from an oblique angle and in perspective. (Map design: Tom Patterson) Plummer Peak 6370 ft 1942 m The Castle Pinnacle Peak 6565 ft 2000 m Trail ends 5910 ft 1801 m Pinnacle Peak The Castle 6565 ft 2000 m Trail ends 5910 ft 1801 m Plummer Peak 6370 ft 1942 m Pinnacle Glacier SH TATOO GE RAN Pinnacle Glacier SH TATOO RANGE Elevation gain: 1050 feet / 320 meters Distance (one-way): 1.5 miles / 2.4 kilometers Pinnacle Peak Trail Elevation gain: 1050 feet / 320 meters Distance (one-way): 1.5 miles / 2.4 kilometers Pinnacle Peak Trail To Ohanapecosh Visitor Center You are here 4860 ft 1481 m To Paradise To Ohanapecosh Visitor Center You are here S te tion 4860 ft 1481 m To Paradise Refle ctio nL ak Stevens Canyon Road e 0 0 0.25 Kilometers 0.25 Miles Reflec vens Canyon Road Lak e South Scale varies in this perspective view. South 66 segdDESIGN
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