Mapbox Cartography

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name: mapbox-cartography description: Expert guidance on map design principles, color theory, visual hierarchy, typography, and cartographic best practices for creating effective and beautiful maps with Mapbox. Use when designing map styles, choosing colors, or making cartographic decisions.

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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

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"
}

> Road color rule for dark themes: Roads must use neutral dark gray (#3a3a3a), visibly distinct from the background but not colored. Never style roads with amber, blue, or other hues — reserve color for app data layers (routes, markers). Colored base roads and colored data layers will compete visually. Local roads that blend into the background (#1e1e1e on #1a1a1a) create a "floating labels" problem where street names appear with no visible road beneath them.

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"
}

Typography at Map Scale

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

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

> Note: Mapbox's hosted Streets style defaults to showing most POIs around zoom 14. For custom styles, start POIs at zoom 12 — this is the neighborhood scale where density is manageable and users are browsing. Zoom 14 is late; zoom 10 (metro-area scale) is far too early and creates severe icon clutter.

Zoom 16-22 (Street Level):

All detail

House numbers

Parking lots

Fine-grained POIs

Mapbox-Specific Implementation 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)

> Common mistake: Developers often put their app's route line or active markers _below_ POI symbols, reasoning that "POIs must stay visible." This is backwards — user-generated content (your route, selected location, user position) is the most important layer and must render above everything, including POIs. A route line that covers a POI icon is acceptable; a route obscured by POI icons is not.

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

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

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

Reference Files

For detailed guidance on specific topics, load these references as needed:

references/scenarios.md — Common scenario guidance (Restaurant Finder, Real Estate, Data Visualization, Navigation)

references/performance-testing.md — Performance optimization, testing checklist, and common mistakes to avoid

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.)