Labeling master class

From cartographer Andy Skinner comes this very useful resource about #labels in #cartography for both interactive and static #maps. Scale, transparency-and-opacity, hue, tone, halos, … – this guide covers many different visual variables and how they can be used to make the information in a map easier to grasp.
Author

Ralph Straumann

Published

March 21, 2025

From cartographer Andy Skinner comes this very useful resource about cartographic labeling for both interactive and static maps. While this guide comes in the form of an ArcGIS storymap, it is software-agnostic.

An area with a challenging label density, but clear visual hierarchy (source: Andy Skinner (fair use))

Scale, transparency-and-opacity, hue, tone, halos, … – this guide covers many different visual variables and how they can be used, on their own or together, to make a map a lot more aesthetic and the information it contains easier to grasp.

The labeling guide is part of a six-part1 series in which Andy Skinner looks at his work. The other parts are listed at the bottom of the page.

Footnotes

  1. for now (?)↩︎