Labs / Chapter 11
Chapter 11 makes typography explicit: the map has a voice, and the prompt cartographer must direct it before the model fills silence with generic web-map type.
Chapter 11 treats typography as the voice of the map. This lab teaches you to direct that voice through tone, hierarchy, legibility, label placement, fallback stacks, density rules, and critique.
Choose a map that needs labels to carry meaning. Use one scenario throughout the lab.
Map scenario Topic: Place: Audience: Use context: classroom / public meeting / field use / dashboard / mobile Tone needed: authoritative / friendly / archival / urgent / calm / technical Label categories: Most important label category: Labels that should recede: Likely mobile constraints: What type must not imply:
Create a Typographic Intent Brief for this map. Explain the map's desired voice, audience, and trust posture. Then translate the tone into typographic properties: font category, weight, size hierarchy, case, spacing, contrast, and number of font families. Do not name final fonts yet; describe the typographic behavior first. Map scenario: [PASTE]
| Design role | Typographic behavior | Reason | Risk if wrong |
|---|---|---|---|
| Title | Example: Short note | Example: Matches the data logic | Example: Could overstate certainty |
| Major labels | Example: Short note | Example: Matches the data logic | Example: Could overstate certainty |
Starter examples only; expand this in your own notes or submission document.
Recommend a robust web typography system for this map. Use no more than two font families. Include primary fonts, fallback stacks, and system fallbacks. Explain how each fallback preserves x-height, width, weight, tone, and legibility. Include a warning about what would change if the preferred font fails. Typographic Intent Brief: [PASTE]
Create a label hierarchy for my map. Include at least three label categories. Specify relative size, weight, case, opacity, color/contrast behavior, placement priority, and what should happen when labels compete. Use functional descriptions rather than only font names. Map scenario and font system: [PASTE]
| Label category | Priority | Size/weight/case | Placement rule | Collision rule |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Example: Short note | 1 | Example: Short note | Example: Short note | Example: Short note |
| Example: Short note | 2 | Example: Short note | Example: Short note | Example: Short note |
| Example: Short note | 3 | Example: Short note | Example: Short note | Example: Short note |
Starter examples only; expand this in your own notes or submission document.
Write label placement rules for point, line, and area features in this map. Include point offsets, line-label behavior on curves, area-label spacing, avoidance of tight bends, label masks or halos if needed, and rules for labels that should disappear at smaller scales. Label categories: [PASTE]
Create density and collision rules for this map. Explain which labels are essential at the opening extent, which appear only after zooming, which can be hidden, and how overlap should be resolved. Include mobile-specific rules and a maximum cognitive load statement for label density.
Ask the LLM to identify one place where your rules might still produce clutter, then revise.
Critique these density and collision rules. Identify the most likely clutter failure, accessibility failure, or mobile failure. Recommend a minimal revision that preserves the typographic voice.
Compile my decisions into a production-ready Typography Specification. Include: 1. map voice and audience 2. font family roles and fallback stacks 3. title, interface, and label hierarchy 4. point, line, and area label placement rules 5. density and collision rules 6. zoom-dependent visibility 7. contrast and accessibility requirements 8. mobile behavior 9. typographic defaults to avoid 10. a self-check asking the assistant to justify typographic choices before implementing them Write this as a concise professional specification.
Generate two typography alternatives for the same map: one that is too casual and one that is too formal. Compare both against my Typography Specification. Explain how tone drift would change user trust, perceived authority, and legibility.
Quick human check before this leaves your desk.
Do the tiny-but-mighty judgment check. If these answers are fuzzy, revise the map idea before polishing the prompt.
For use with Prompt Cartography: Interactive Web Map Design with LLMs, CRC Press. www.promptcartography.com
Prompt Cartography