Map Purpose and Audience Checklist
Prompts cartographers to define a map's purpose, audience, medium, scale and symbology.
Checklist
Before designing a map, decide its purpose and audience — it drives every layout, symbology and content choice.
Still outstanding
- Single clear message defined
- Decision the map supports identified
- Output medium known
- Audience and their expertise known
- Detail level suited to the audience
- Accessibility considered
- Only data that serves the purpose
- Appropriate scale and extent
- Symbology matches the message
A field and study aid only — follow your organisation's procedures, project brief and QA requirements. Nothing here is stored.
How to use this calculator
- Tick off the purpose, audience and content-fit items before you start designing.
- Use the outstanding list to spot decisions you haven't made yet.
- Settle these first — they drive every later design choice.
How it works
A good map answers one question for one audience on one medium. Fixing the purpose, audience and output medium first tells you the right scale, detail, symbology and layout.
This is a browser-only planning aid for study and design exercises.
Worked example
A hazard map for the public. Purpose: show flood-risk areas; audience: residents (non-expert); medium: web — so it needs simple, colour-blind-safe symbology, clear labels and a sensible extent.
Frequently asked questions
Why decide the audience before designing?
Detail, symbology and language all depend on who's reading the map. A map for engineers and a map for the public showing the same data should look quite different.
Is this official course material?
No. It is free study support mapped to surveying course levels — not official North Metropolitan TAFE content or advice. Always follow your lecturer and the official assessment brief, and check your own working.
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- Map Scale Bar Builder
Explore more in Surveying, Coordinates, GIS & CAD.
Cite this tool
Zerdly. (2026). Map Purpose and Audience Checklist. Retrieved from https://www.zerdly.com/tools/map-purpose-and-audience-checklist/
Tip: Enter any known values to calculate the remaining results.
All calculations run in your browser. Your inputs are never saved or transmitted.