QGIS - Cartography

version française


On this page, we will create our map and ensure to follow the common rules and standards of cartography.

1. General rules

1.1 What every map should contain

Every map should contain the following items:
  • The map itself
  • A title
  • A legend explaining everything that is visible on the map
  • A North arrow
  • A scale bar
  • Credits to contributors
  • A map description
  • Information about the author

1.2 Think about your map

It is very important that you think about your map.
  • What do I want to show
    • Why do I want to show it?
    • Will the user understand it in the way I plan to present it?
    • How do I want to show it
  • Think about “natural” colouring, e.g., a lake should be blue, not green as we naturally associate certain elements with certain colours.
  • Colour ranges
    • Height are usually shown in grey tones. But it could also be a range from blue (ocean) -> green (vegetation) -> brown/red (hills, mountains) -> white (high mountains/snow)
    • Bipolar colour ranges are great for temperature ranging from below to above 0°C. Blue for cold colour -> towards white for the 0°C -> towards red for warmer. If you only have negative temperatures, rather use a mono-colour ramp.
    • Multiple layers: choose large areas for the background and choose light colours. For the foreground, rather use smaller symbols and intense colours.
    • Warm colours for a group of features vs. cold colours for another.
  • If you look at your final map, ask yourself the following question: would I spend money on it? If yes, you have probably done a good job.


2. Preparations

1) Edit your layer section
  • The entries here will show up as-is in the legend. Correct for spelling, give meaningful names and (like in this case) rename items if the content has changed. For example, the point layer was called instrument_coordiantes. But as we went along, it now just contains buildings.
  • Only the item with a hook will be displayed.
  • Add labels to the contour lines.
2) Open the layout manager and create a new layout. You can save different layouts in each project and access them independently.


3. Creating a map

1) We will add a lot of items from this menu:
2) Add a map and scale it to a similar extent and a frame from the "Item properties".
3) Add a label and scale it to a similar extent.
  • Add a frame and a background. Click on the colour in the "Background" entry and give it a sandy tone.
  • Under "Main Properties," write your title.
  • Click on font, and change it to something you like.
  • Click on "Center" and "Middle."
4) Add a label and scale it to a similar extent.
  • Activate "Frame" and "Background." As a background colour, choose a light grey.
  • Under "main Properties," replace text with "Legend" and choose appropriate settings.
  • Click on "Center."
5) Add a North arrow to the top right corner and a scale bar to the bottom of the legend. Ensure that the numbers are meaningful (round numbers, simple intervals, etc.). You can edit this in the "Segments"-section of the scale bar.
6) Add a legend.
  • Deactivate "Auto update."
  • Remove unwanted entries.
  • Deactivate "Background."
  • Fit to legend box.
7) Add a label.
  • Fit it under the legend entries.
  • Credit Norsk Polarinstitutt for their data.
  • Add a map description. You can do this step separately from the above.
8) Add a label.
  • Note here the author, date and other important information (e.g., who funded the work: your employer, etc.).
  • "Center" and "Middle" it.
9) Export map. Click on "Layout -> Export as Image. . ."
10) Give it a name and save it as a png. 300 dpi is a good standard quality.


Congratulations, you have made a pretty map. But don't forget about the last page :)