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Among other topics related to the visual aspect of cartographic products, current research addresses the problem of user friendliness. The most significant research concerns those products that evolve most rapidly, a typical example being interactive dynamic maps. This group of cartographic works includes products that are relatively challenging for users with respect to their temporally fluid content and the possibility of interactive manipulation. The article begins with a basic discussion of user-friendliness in cartographic products; in this context it addresses the historical development of the notion of cartography as a science, as well as the evolution of the ways in which it has been defined and of its subjects of interest. It demonstrates that, aside from notions of cartography as a technical discipline, it is also of interest from a linguistic point of view for its role as a mean of communication between cartographer and map user. Still greater emphasis is placed on the design aspects of cartographic production. The study offers the example of recent developments in Czech cartographic production, in which the last twenty years have seen a significant differentiation between published cartographic products and amateur cartography generally. This applies to creation as well as user base. Next the article describes a study on the user-friendliness of temporal legends, which are very common in animated maps. The goal of this study, which was conducted during the summer of 2010, was not only to evaluate the given temporal legends, but also to investigate the extent to which users were able to work with temporal variables (with time) in a cartographic product. Among the tools for collecting data was a form of online test. This test posed questions to respondents and automatically measured the amount of time it took them to find their answers. This method was based on the assumption that, given two cartographic works containing similar content, the work which enables the user to find information more quickly is the more user-friendly of the two. The results of the test were then analyzed on the basis of an objective standard for comparing qualities in a cartography work. The authors conclude by suggesting future directions for research on the subject. Výzkum uživatelské vstřícnosti časové legendy v animovaných mapách Vedle technické stránky kartografické tvorby se v současnosti stále více diskutuje o její uživatelské vstřícnosti. Výzkum uživatelské vstřícnosti může být vhodným vodítkem pro odlišení vizualizačních technik, které má smysl dále rozvíjet a technik, které jsou z pohledu uživatele neefektivní. Článek navrhuje a diskutuje tři odlišné typy časové legendy, které řeší rozdílným způsobem samotné znázornění času (dvě odlišné formy časové osy × alfanumerické vyjádření času) a také jeho rychlost a její případné změny. První ze zkoumaných legend vyjadřuje rychlost času rychlostí pohyblivého jezdce, druhá grafickou délkou časových jednotek na časové ose. Poslední, alfanumerická časová legenda, používá ke znázornění rychlosti času speciální, uměle přidaný prvek ve tvaru šipky. Tyto tři navržené časové legendy byly vzájemně porovnány na základě online testu uživatelské vstřícnosti. Do porovnání vstupovaly jak faktory objektivní (jak je uživatel schopen s danou časovou legendou pracovat), tak faktory subjektivní. Z testu vyplynulo, že nejlepší způsob vyjádření času je formou časové osy, kdy je rychlost času vyjádřena proměnnou rychlostí pohyblivého ukazatele („jezdce“). Tento způsob je však v praxi nejběžněji používaný a zůstává proto otázkou, nakolik jsou výsledky testu ovlivněny faktorem zvyku uživatelů. Pro stanovení jasných závěrů by bylo třeba provést větší množství elementárních testů.

Among other topics related to the visual aspect of cartographic products, current research addresses the problem of user friendliness. The most significant research concerns those products that evolve most rapidly, a typical example being interactive dynamic maps. This group of cartographic works includes products that are relatively challenging for users with respect to their temporally fluid content and the possibility of interactive manipulation. The article begins with a basic discussion of user-friendliness in cartographic products; in this context it addresses the historical development of the notion of cartography as a science, as well as the evolution of the ways in which it has been defined and of its subjects of interest. It demonstrates that, aside from notions of cartography as a technical discipline, it is also of interest from a linguistic point of view for its role as a mean of communication between cartographer and map user. Still greater emphasis is placed on the design aspects of cartographic production. The study offers the example of recent developments in Czech cartographic production, in which the last twenty years have seen a significant differentiation between published cartographic products and amateur cartography generally. This applies to creation as well as user base. Next the article describes a study on the user-friendliness of temporal legends, which are very common in animated maps. The goal of this study, which was conducted during the summer of 2010, was not only to evaluate the given temporal legends, but also to investigate the extent to which users were able to work with temporal variables (with time) in a cartographic product. Among the tools for collecting data was a form of online test. This test posed questions to respondents and automatically measured the amount of time it took them to find their answers. This method was based on the assumption that, given two cartographic works containing similar content, the work which enables the user to find information more quickly is the more user-friendly of the two. The results of the test were then analyzed on the basis of an objective standard for comparing qualities in a cartography work. The authors conclude by suggesting future directions for research on the subject. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]