Determine the objectives of the map what is being communicated who is likely to use the map and under what circumstances the use of the map will guide some important design decisions such as how big the text must be a map being projected on a screen to a large
Audience needs simplicity large text and bold colors a highway travel map needs more details
Decide on the data layers to be included computers provide a big advantage here because one can easily add or remove layers as the map takes shape and can change a design decision if it does not appear to work in practice