Mapbox Cartography Skill

This skill provides expert cartographic knowledge to help you design effective, beautiful, and functional maps using Mapbox.

Core Cartographic Principles

Visual Hierarchy

Maps must guide the viewer's attention to what matters most:

• Most important: POIs, user location, route highlights
• Secondary: Major roads, city labels, landmarks
• Tertiary: Minor streets, administrative boundaries
• Background: Water, land use, terrain

Implementation:

• Use size, color intensity, and contrast to establish hierarchy
• Primary features: high contrast, larger symbols, bold colors
• Background features: low contrast, muted colors, smaller text

Color Theory for Maps

Color Harmony:

• Analogous colors: Use colors next to each other on color wheel (blue-green-teal) for cohesive designs
• Complementary colors: Use opposite colors (blue/orange, red/green) for high contrast emphasis
• Monochromatic: Single hue with varying saturation/brightness for elegant, minimal designs

Color Psychology:

• Blue: Water, trust, calm, professional (default for water bodies)
• Green: Parks, nature, growth, eco-friendly (vegetation, parks)
• Red/Orange: Urgent, important, dining (alerts, restaurants)
• Yellow: Caution, highlight, attention (warnings, selected items)
• Gray: Neutral, background, roads (infrastructure)

Accessibility:

• Ensure 4.5:1 contrast ratio for text (WCAG AA)
• Don't rely solely on color to convey information
• Test designs with colorblind simulators
• Avoid red/green combinations for critical distinctions

Typography Best Practices

Font Selection:

• Sans-serif (Roboto, Open Sans): Modern, clean, high legibility at small sizes - use for labels
• Serif (Noto Serif): Traditional, formal - use sparingly for titles or historic maps
• Monospace: Technical data, coordinates

Text Sizing:

Place labels (cities, POIs): 11-14px
Street labels: 9-11px
Feature labels (parks): 10-12px
Map title: 16-20px
Attribution: 8-9px

Label Placement:

• Point labels: Center or slightly offset (avoid overlap with symbol)
• Line labels: Follow line curve, repeat for long features
• Area labels: Center in polygon, sized appropriately
• Prioritize: Major features get labels first, minor features labeled if space allows

Map Context Considerations

Know Your Audience:

• General public: Simplify, use familiar patterns (Google/Apple style)
• Technical users: Include more detail, technical layers, data precision
• Domain experts: Show specialized data, use domain-specific symbology

Use Case Optimization:

• Navigation: Emphasize roads, clear hierarchy, route visibility
• Data visualization: Muted base map, let data stand out
• Storytelling: Guide viewer attention, establish mood with colors
• Location selection: Show POIs clearly, provide context
• Analysis: Include relevant layers, maintain clarity at different zooms

Platform Considerations:

• Mobile: Larger touch targets (44x44px minimum), simpler designs, readable at arm's length
• Desktop: Can include more detail, hover interactions, complex overlays
• Print: Higher contrast, larger text, consider CMYK color space
• Outdoor/Bright: Higher contrast, avoid subtle grays

Mapbox-Specific Guidance

Style Layer Best Practices

Layer Ordering (bottom to top):

1. Background (solid color or pattern)
2. Landuse (parks, residential, commercial)
3. Water bodies (oceans, lakes, rivers)
4. Terrain/hillshade (if using elevation)
5. Buildings (3D or 2D footprints)
6. Roads (highways → local streets)
7. Borders (country, state lines)
8. Labels (place names, street names)
9. POI symbols
10. User-generated content (routes, markers)

Zoom Level Strategy

Zoom 0-4 (World to Continent):

• Major country boundaries
• Ocean and sea labels
• Capital cities only

Zoom 5-8 (Country to State):

• State/province boundaries
• Major cities
• Major highways
• Large water bodies

Zoom 9-11 (Metro Area):

• City boundaries
• Neighborhoods
• All highways and major roads
• Parks and landmarks

Zoom 12-15 (Neighborhood):

• All streets
• Building footprints
• POIs (restaurants, shops)
• Street names

Zoom 16-22 (Street Level):

• All detail
• House numbers
• Parking lots
• Fine-grained POIs

Color Palette Templates

Light Theme (Day/Professional):

{
  "background": "#f5f5f5",
  "water": "#a0c8f0",
  "parks": "#d4e7c5",
  "roads": "#ffffff",
  "buildings": "#e0e0e0",
  "text": "#333333"
}

Dark Theme (Night Mode):

{
  "background": "#1a1a1a",
  "water": "#0d47a1",
  "parks": "#2e7d32",
  "roads": "#3a3a3a",
  "buildings": "#2d2d2d",
  "text": "#ffffff"
}

High Contrast (Accessibility):

{
  "background": "#000000",
  "water": "#0066ff",
  "parks": "#00ff00",
  "roads": "#ffffff",
  "buildings": "#808080",
  "text": "#ffffff"
}

Vintage/Retro:

{
  "background": "#f4e8d0",
  "water": "#b8d4d4",
  "parks": "#c8d4a4",
  "roads": "#d4c4a8",
  "buildings": "#e4d4c4",
  "text": "#4a3828"
}

Common Mapping Scenarios

Scenario: Restaurant Finder App

Requirements:

• Restaurants must be highly visible
• Street context for navigation
• Muted background (food photos overlay)

Recommendations:

• Use bold, warm colors for restaurant markers (red, orange)
• Gray out background (low saturation)
• Keep street labels clear but not dominant
• High contrast for selected restaurant
• Mobile-optimized touch targets

Scenario: Real Estate Map

Requirements:

• Property boundaries clearly visible
• Neighborhood context
• Price differentiation

Recommendations:

• Use color scale for price ranges (green=affordable, red=expensive)
• Show parks and amenities prominently
• Include school zones if relevant
• Label neighborhoods clearly
• Show transit access

Scenario: Data Visualization Overlay

Requirements:

• Data layer is primary focus
• Base map provides context only
• Multiple data points may cluster

Recommendations:

• Monochromatic, low-contrast base map
• Use data-ink ratio principle (minimize non-data elements)
• Base map grayscale or single muted hue
• Remove unnecessary labels
• Consider using light base for dark data, vice versa

Scenario: Navigation/Routing

Requirements:

• Route must be unmissable
• Turn-by-turn clarity
• Current location always visible

Recommendations:

• Route in high-contrast color (blue or purple)
• Animate route line or use dashed pattern
• Large, clear turn indicators
• Dim unrelated features
• User location: pulsing blue dot
• Next turn: prominent arrow/icon

Performance Optimization

Style Performance:

• Minimize layer count (combine similar layers)
• Use expressions instead of multiple layers for variants
• Simplify complex geometries at lower zooms
• Use sprite sheets for repeated icons
• Leverage tileset simplification

Loading Speed:

• Preload critical zoom levels
• Use style optimization tools
• Minimize external resource calls
• Compress images in sprite sheets

Testing Your Design

Checklist:

• View at all relevant zoom levels
• Test in different lighting conditions
• Check on actual devices (mobile, desktop)
• Verify color accessibility (colorblind.org)
• Review with target users
• Test with real data density
• Check label collision/overlap
• Verify performance on slower devices

Common Mistakes to Avoid

1. Too many colors: Stick to 5-7 main colors maximum
2. Insufficient contrast: Text must be readable
3. Overcrowding: Not everything needs a label
4. Ignoring zoom levels: Show appropriate detail for scale
5. Poor label hierarchy: Organize by importance
6. Inconsistent styling: Maintain visual consistency
7. Neglecting performance: Complex styles slow rendering
8. Forgetting mobile: Test on actual devices

When to Use This Skill

Invoke this skill when:

• Designing a new map style
• Choosing colors for map elements
• Making decisions about visual hierarchy
• Optimizing for specific use cases
• Troubleshooting visibility issues
• Ensuring accessibility
• Creating themed maps (dark mode, vintage, etc.)