A key stage in developing a good design is the compilation process. Many cartographers still sketch out a layout on paper before starting, but others prefer to sketch digitally, which is essentially what you're doing in this chapter. In the compilation sheet, you'll add placeholders for the parts of your map to create a digital sketch, and determine size and placement to achieve balance, harmony, and unity.
Since few geographic features are symmetrical, we can't just drop it in the center of the page and consider it done. Even if the map is bounded into a nice square by a neatline, the shape of the subject area is still going to impact how it's placed within that space, and perhaps whether other map elements go on top of that square, or outside of it.
Let's start by looking at some of the ways in which balance is established (or disturbed...
