Moving the Atlas of Saskatchewan from a Hardcopy (Millennium Edition) to a Multi-Media (CD-ROM Edition) Platform

Abstract

Production of the Atlas of Saskatchewan (CD-ROM Edition) required a synthesis of skills including technical expertise in the fields of digital multimedia technology, geographic information systems technology and cartography. Recent advances in electronic media based technology have had a substantial impact on certain aspects of cartography in recent years. Some of these advances include the use of multimedia tools for map design and production, presentation and interactivity. CD-ROM atlases, in particular, have become extremely popular and have been produced in increasing numbers in recent years. According to the literature, advances in electronic technology render electronic atlases more effective in communicating geographic information than those in a paper medium. The former can combine multimedia elements such as sound and motion that cannot be incorporated in a printed atlas. The effects of these advances on cartographic information processing (cartographic communication) forces cartographers to reexamine the way they design maps. Layout, screen real estate, image resolution and colour are among some of the design features that will differ in an electronic medium.

The development of the Atlas of Saskatchewan (CD-ROM Edition), an electronic version of the existing hard-copy Atlas of Saskatchewan (Millennium Edition) incorporated many of these new multi-media features and tackled a number of issues associated with the implementation of new technology. These issued included; generalization, legibility, speed, screen resolution and color, as well as software capabilities, hardware requirements, cross platform and file size issues. The fact that this CD-ROM atlas was generated from the transformation of an existing paper version did not make the production any less complex. Issues of consistency, continuity, layout and design had to be considered for the electronic medium. This paper discusses these issues and the ensuing stages in the development of the Atlas of Saskatchewan (CD-ROM Edition) in the context of cartographic communication. It also looks at various techniques employed and the multi-disciplinary nature of the development of the interactive CDROM Atlas, as well as some of the issues that surfaced in the production process.