Antarctica storytelling: creating interactive story maps for polar regions with graphic-based approach

Abstract

Although story maps have gained popularity for storytelling related to spatial information, existing story maps authoring tools often fall short in delivering diverse narrative forms and struggle to accurately render polar regions due to the limitations of tilebased mapping. In this work, we introduce a graphicbased method to address these challenges, developing a framework specifically designed for creating story maps for polar regions. Our key contribution lies in offering heuristic strategies for story map design, emphasizing their role in effectively visualizing and disseminating polar culture. This paper outlines essential design tasks for story map creation and introduces three pivotal narrative strategies: attention cue, linkage of map with other visual elements, and cartographic interaction. Additionally, we emphasize the significance of storyboard design, focusing on aspects such as logical sequencing, temporal order, map scale and granularity, and interactive design. To validate the effectiveness of our story map design framework, we develop several story map cases centered around the exploration history of Antarctica. These examples highlight the diversity and interactivity in the story maps produced through our methodology. Finally, we explore the challenges and limitations encountered in the process of creating story maps, and from these observations, we identify prospective areas for further research.