Map Borders

[Zereth]

I'm completing my first map and I was wondering if anyone had a good resource for borders? Some of the map borders I've seen here are amazing! Is it customary to create your own, or do most people use stock borders?

Thanks in advance for any help!

[xpian]

I'm interested in this question myself. I've been doing a few of my own simple borders, but I'd like some better border-fu.

[J.Edward]

Hey Zereth - maybe you could link to some examples of borders you like and we can say then if it is custom or stock.
I do my own. It's just easier that way. I create brushes I like in PS. Then use the pen tool to create the line selection I want and then stroke that selection with whatever of my brushes I like.

Perhaps others will drop in with some input into their border techniques.

[Zereth]

Hey Zereth - maybe you could link to some examples of borders you like and we can say then if it is custom or stock.
I do my own. It's just easier that way. I create brushes I like in PS. Then use the pen tool to create the line selection I want and then stroke that selection with whatever of my brushes I like.

Perhaps others will drop in with some input into their border techniques.

Thanks! Here's one of my favorites:

http://www.cartographersguild.com/at...nfinalhalf.jpg

It has a calligraphy look that fits the map perfectly! I would love to be able to add this type of border.

[Jaxilon]

Well it seems the search feature doesn't work but maybe that's on my end. It helps to be an old timer sometimes because I remember this one.

Here is a great map border creation tutorial written by Arsheesh for Gimp however the concepts are the same for PS and you should be able to follow it unless you are really new.

Hope it helps

[priggs]

Here's my take. This is something I've written, but sorry not to have the image examples posted here. It's in InDesign.

Types of map borders
If you’ve ever taken a video with a handheld digicam, you’ve probably experienced the shaky images that resulted. No matter how much you try to hold it steady, there are bumps, swings, and all sorts of other movements.

But there’s a simple way to stop the shakiness. Put the digicam on a tripod and you have the support the camera needs to create a perfectly clear, focused video.

Well-designed borders are like a tripod for your map. When done right, the border supports your map to reinforce sense of the area it represents. To accomplish that supporting goal, you have to think strategically about the map border.

Map borders are more than just decoration
They help set the tone of the map as they enclose all the contents and set the boundaries. More than that, a good border can elevate the simplest map to a thing of beauty.

Because they are so important to the overall look of your map, you don’t want to make a weak, useless border. You want a border that will support your map and set the scene.

A big piece of supporting the map’s purpose lies in the type of border you choose
If you are designing an informative map, images will help explain the map. If you have a decorative map you want a decorative border, and patterns can fit perfectly. And for something out of the ordinary, consider using a non-border border … a border that is made up of objects fitting your map’s theme or location.
What are the options? Here are three types of borders widely used on maps with personality.

Type 1: Patterns
Type 2: Images
Type 3: Non-border borders

Let’s look at the three types of map borders available, starting with the common patterns.

Type 1: Patterns
Patterned borders can range from simple to intricate. They can also use repeated patterns, or a complete design.

For some ideas, you can simply use a series of lines of different thicknesses filled with color. To be more decorative, you can use an ornamental pattern of waves, scrolls, leaves, or even get inspiration from architectural designs.

Patterns are perfect for maps where you want the information on the map to be the most important element for the reader to focus on. The patterned border looks attractive enough to make a map stand out, but doesn’t overpower the map so much that it’s distracting.

Which brings up another point, how abstract to make the pattern elements. Using more abstract lines or icons in the border causes the reader to take in the border without fixating on it. They won’t spend their time looking at the border instead of the map.

But why would you not want the reader to focus on the map? That’s the point of the next border type of images.

Type 2: Images
Photographs, illustrations, or cartoons add an interesting element to maps. Why? Because it shows the world like we would see it if we were there. The people, the animals, the plants, and the landscape all create a sense of stepping down from above and into the map.

A great way to meld images with maps is to use them as a border. Suddenly the map is transformed into a geography lesson of the area. We can get a look at the place through the images.

What’s more, by adding captions to the images we can transform maps into information powerhouses. Captions are the perfect way to give a ton of meaning with each image.

But if you want to really get out of the ordinary, consider using a non-border border.

Type 3: Non-border borders
What do you think about when you think about Hawaii? Beeches? Surfing? Ukuleles? Leis? The important thing isn’t what you think about, but seeing the possibilities because you can use any of these objects in a non-border border.

Non-border borders are objects used to frame the map. They work because objects related to the map’s location are used. The objects highlight the map by giving it a lot of personality and “sense of place”, a sense of the characteristics that make a place unique.

Two ways to create a non-border border is through drawing or using photos. If your non-border border is in color, you can use the same color scheme in your map for a well-designed, cohesive overall appearance.

Those are three ways to create unique borders that add a lot of personality to your map
So, don’t let your map be like an unstable video. If you strategically design the border, it will be a tripod to make your message clear and focused.

[Hai-Etlik]

In cartography terminology, when you are framing the portion of a document that specifically contains the spatial features of the map, that's a "neatline". A "border" is any other kind of visual framing such as one around a larger document that includes several map extents, each with their own neatline.

Neatlines are special as they share the precision aspects of the map extent they delineate. They are a functional part of the map like graticules, scales, compass roses, etc. It's best if they are simple and don't intrude on the map extent. Some incorporate additional information about the coordinate system used by the map, most common in the form of tick marks or a checked pattern. Tossing in such markings without thinking it through has much the same effect as adding a graticule (grid) without thinking it through.

A couple of my maps might help to illustrate:

In this map, there are 4 circular extents each with a graticule and a single checked neatline. Note how the neatline and the graticule line up, and although it's not clearly visible, the neatline's thickness does not extend into the map; the inner edge ot the neatline is the edge of the extent, not the centre of the neatline. Around the whole document, is a border which isn't cartographically significant and so can have fancy curlicues sticking inward at the corners.

In this example, the map fills the whole document and the neatline is also the overall border. Again it's a checked design and again it lines up with the graticule, which is an appropriate shape for the latitude.

A simple line, or a double line with a plain fill is really all you need for a neatline, so if you don't want to do the check marks, don't overthink it.

[Slylok]

I love a good map border. Especially the artistic ones. I like to incorporate the legend and title into it when i can.