Norway

Map & Design

  • Written and photos compiled by:
    Susanna Strand
Photo showing multiple variations of Norway’s map shape.

In Store Norske Leksikon maps are defined as “graphical, processed renderings of a landscape”.1 We can depict an area with the help of graphic elements. These elements can for example be form, colour, lines, composition and typography. Terms we can also find within design, as we know we can use design to convey a message or influence how we perceive something and what actions we take. In this text I will examine how maps also use these elements to influence, convey, and at times manipulate how we perceive states and nations, for better or for worse.

Forms

When we close our eyes and imagine our homeland often a specific shape will pop into our mind. A few years ago, while working on my bachelor’s thesis I asked people to draw their home country from memory. The images of course varied in quality, but some were so stylised that they more resembled a logo for that country. In design, especially in marketing and branding, logos are central elements. They create associations and contribute to positioning and, finally, capital.2 Not seldom do we get examples of a country’s shape being used for this. Walk into any souvenir shop and you’ll find it printed on mugs, cards, shirts, keychains and more.

In souvenir shops we can also find objects with an even bigger branding subject: the flag. We currently have two examples where a country’s shape is used on their flag. Cyprus is one of them, and the other is Kosovo. The latter’s flag is blue with six white stars and a golden map of the country in the center. Kosovo declared independence from Serbia as recently as 20083 and for them using their own country as part of their new flag can only be seen as them highlighting this independence, a way to unite the people and contribute to an increased feeling of national identity.

Flag of Kosovo with a blue background, a yellow silhouette of the country, and six stars above.

Norway as well gained a greater sense of national identity when we got our own flag. Most of the people who have celebrated the 17th of May in Norwegian schools have heard the story of Fredrik Meltzer, the man who drew a blue cross on the Danish flag when we gained our independence from Denmark.4 A less known, but in my opinion just as important story from this era was when Norway got its own map. The visual form of Norway was first depicted by Peter Andreas Munch, the same shape we immediately recognise as our own country today.5

Typography

Typography is a key tool in design, and in maps, can be expressed through different sizes used for place names. This can be problematic because it says something about the importance of a place, or lack thereof, and how interested we should be in that area.6 In this text I’ve chosen to expand the term typography to also encompass language and place names. P. A. Munch not only drew the map for Norway, but also actively worked to Norwegianise Danish place names.7 This contributed to creating a feeling of national identity and in building the nation. A more recent example is the presidential order from Donald Trump in 2025 to change the name from “The Gulf of Mexico” to “The Gulf of America”.8 This took place as a part of a bigger mission to increase the feeling of nationalism and “to promote the extraordinary heritage of our Nation and ensure future generations of American citizens celebrate the legacy of our American heroes”.9

Composition

Composition is to organise visual elements into a whole, and through the composition we can convey information in a way such as it is experienced, perceived and interpreted in a way we want it to.10 Maps can be composed through projections and sections. A projection is a mathematical method that is used when we want to transfer the globe to a flat map.11 There are countless map projections that try to depict the globe fairly, but no matter what you do they will always contain flaws when it comes to distance, scale, angles or forms.12 The projection calculated by Gerhard Mercator in 1569 is still often used today. It is accurate when it comes to angles and directions, but can be deceiving when it comes to the size ratio between countries.13 European as he was, he also chose to put Europe in the center of the map.

The placement and sections are used to lead the eye towards an area of focus. For Norway the Arctic is a strategic focus area, and the government have used sections of maps where the northern part of Norway is placed centrally on the Arctic to show how important the area is for the north.14

Historical map illustration of Norway and Sweden during their union.

Colours

In political maps where we can see the borders of different nations15, colours are often used to differentiate the nations from one another.16 This is done so that we may easily discern what areas belong to each country. Colours are an effective tool for conveying as we have many associations and conventions tied to colours. In maps for example you seldom see the ocean depicted by any other colour than blue. How we use colour can also be problematic. We can find one example of this in Chinese maps. China wishes to one day reign over Taiwan17, and they show this by colouring Taiwan in the same colour as themselves on their own maps. On Chinese maps we also find the “nine-dash-line” – a dotted line that represents areas China claims as their territory in the South China Sea.18 This takes me to the next graphic element for this article: the line.

Lines

In maps we often read lines as being borders, and here the fun begins. We all most likely know the story of the colonial lords who sat around a table dividing up Africa between them. With pens and rulers, they divided the continent without a single thought for the people or the landscape. This has created conflicts which we still see the repercussions of today19, and there’s lots to choose between: Israel/Palestine, Marocco/Western Sahara, Pakistan/India, China/Taiwan, etc.20 To draw a line and keep separate what is “mine” and “yours” is done in a room by siblings, and in the offices of powerful states. An ongoing conflict that we have become well acquainted with these past couple of years is the one between Russia and Ukraine, where border lines are a central theme. After the Russian invasion in 2014 Google was pressured to show the Crimean Peninsula as Russian territory on Google Maps21, and today different areas are shown as belonging to different states depending on the land code you are using.22

Borders can be used to get what you want. In the summer of 2025, the Republicans of Texas presented a plan to change the map of the electoral districts to place Democrats in as few districts as possible. The result of this would be that the Republicans will receive more seats in the House of Representatives during the Washington election in 2026.23 This sounds pretty wild, but is a tactic that has been used by both sides, and even has a name: Gerrymandering.24

At first glance most maps may appear scientific and neutral, and it may appear that the visual elements used are done so in an objective and well-meaning way. As we see, maps are also used for marketing, conveying meaning, influencing and even manipulating. The fact that north is up on most maps is a deliberate design decision and can give us an idea about who is sitting “at the top of the world”. The next time you see a map: remember that maps are designed, with all the tools and possibilities that contains.

Endnotes

  1. Store norske leksikon, “Kart”, Thomas Reinertsen Berg, Thorbjørn Sømod, Edvin Ørstavik, Acessed 27.11.2025. https://snl.no/kart. ↩
  2. Wanda Grimsgaard, Design og strategi, (Oslo: Cappelen Damm, 2018), 464–465. ↩
  3. FN-sambandet, “Kosovo”, Johan Iversen, Accessed 27.11.2025, https://fn.no/konflikter/kosovo#Kosovoerkl%C3%A6reruavhengighet-5. ↩
  4. Store norske leksikon, “Norges flagg”, Lars Roede, Accessed 27.11.2025, https://snl.no/Norges_flagg. ↩
  5. Anne Christine Lien, Sovereignty through cartography – The impact of maps on Norwegian national identity in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, 35. ↩
  6. Ruben Pater, The Politics of Design, (Amsterdam: BIS Publishers, 2016), 153. ↩
  7. Anne Christine Lien, Sovereignty through cartography, 84. ↩
  8. The White House. “Gulf of America Day, 2025”, 09.02.2025, https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/02/gulf-of-america-day-2025/. ↩
  9. The White House, “RESTORING NAMES THAT HONOR AMERICAN GREATNESS” 20.01.2025. https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/restoring-names-that-honor-american-greatness/. ↩
  10. Wanda Grimsgaard, Design og strategi, 417. ↩
  11. Jan Ketil Rød, Verktøy for å beskrive verden – Statistikk, kart og bilder, (Trondheim: Tapir Akademisk Forlag, 2009), 43. ↩
  12. Jan Ketil Rød, Verktøy for å beskrive verden, 44. ↩
  13. Ruben Pater, The Politics of Design, 156. ↩
  14. Jonas Gahr Støre, “En ny giv i nordområdepolitikken”, Tidsskriftet Internasjonal politikk, Årgang 78, Nummer 4 (desember 2020), 461–465, https://tidsskriftet-ip.no/index.php/intpol/article/view/2711/4753. ↩
  15. Shepherd University, “Maps: Map Types”, https://libguides.shepherd.edu/c.php?g=506169&p=3464592 Accessed 27.11.2025. ↩
  16. Jan Ketil Rød, Verktøy for å beskrive, 141. ↩
  17. FN-sambandet, “Taiwan”, https://fn.no/land/taiwan, Accessed 27.11.2025. ↩
  18. Wikipedia, “Nine-dash line”, Last updated 30.10.2025. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nine-dash_line. ↩
  19. Dzodzi Tsikata, Kwesi Aning & Marie Barse, “But it's been more than 50 years! How Africa's resource conflicts are still rooted in colonialism”, Danish Institute for International Studies, 05.07.2023. https://www.diis.dk/en/research/but-its-been-more-than-50-years-how-africas-resource-conflicts-are-still-rooted-in. ↩
  20. Wikipedia, “List over territorial disputes”, Last updated 20.11.2025. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_territorial_disputes#Ongoing_disputes_between_UN_member/observer_states. ↩
  21. Ruben Pater, The Politics of Design, 152. ↩
  22. Bill Chapell, “Google Maps Displays Crimean Border Differently In Russia, U.S.”, NPR, 12.04.2014, https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2014/04/12/302337754/google-maps-displays-crimean-border-differently-in-russia-u-s. ↩
  23. Roy Kvatningen, “–Kynisk spill for at Trump skal vinne”, TV 2 Nyheter, 04.08.2025. https://www.tv2.no/nyheter/utenriks/kynisk-spill-for-at-trump-skal-vinne/17966681/. ↩
  24. Store norske leksikon, “Gerrymandering”, Ole T. Berg, Lars Mæhlum https://snl.no/gerrymandering Accessed 28.11.2025. ↩

Bibliography

Chapell, Bill, Google Maps Displays Crimean Border Differently In Russia, U.S.” NPR, April 12, 2014. https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2014/04/12/302337754/google-maps-displays-crimean-border-differently-in-russia-u-s

Danish Institute for International Studies. 05.07.2023. https://www.diis.dk/en/research/but-its-been-more-than-50-years-how-africas-resource-conflicts-are-still-rooted-in

FN-sambandet. “Kosovo”. Joahn Iversen. Accessed November 27, 2025. https://fn.no/konflikter/kosovo#Kosovoerkl%C3%A6reruavhengighet-5

FN-sambandet. “Taiwan”, https://fn.no/land/taiwan. Accessed November 27, 2025.

Grimsgaard, Wanda, Design og strategi. Oslo: Cappelen Damm, 2018.

Kvatningen, Roy. “–Kynisk spill for at Trump skal vinne.” TV 2 Nyheter. August 8, 2025. https://www.tv2.no/nyheter/utenriks/kynisk-spill-for-at-trump-skal-vinne/17966681/

Lien, Anne Christine. Sovereignty through cartography – The impact of maps on Norwegian national identity in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Ph.D.-thesis. Universitetet i Bergen. 2024.

Pater, Ruben. The Politics of Design. Amsterdam: BIS Publishers, 2016.

Rød, Jan Ketil. Verktøy for å beskrive verden – Statistikk, kart og bilder. Trondheim: Tapir Akademisk Forlag, 2009.

Shepherd University. “Maps: Map Types.” Accessed November 27, 2025. https://libguides.shepherd.edu/c.php?g=506169&p=3464592

Store norske leksikon. “Gerrymandering.” Ole T. Berg, Lars Mæhlum. https://snl.no/gerrymandering Accessed November 28, 2025.

Store norske leksikon. “Kart.” Thomas Reinertsen Berg, Thorbjørn Sømod, Edvin Ørstavik. Accessed November 27, 2025. https://snl.no/kart

Store norske leksikon. “Norges flagg.” Lars Roede. Accessed November 27, 2025. https://snl.no/Norges_flagg

Støre, Jonas Gahr. “En ny giv i nordområdepolitikken”. Tidsskriftet Internasjonal politikk. Årgang 78, Nummer 4 (december, 2020), 461–465. https://tidsskriftet-ip.no/index.php/intpol/article/view/2711/4753

The White House. “Gulf of America Day, 2025” February 9, 2025. https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/02/gulf-of-america-day-2025/

The White House. “RESTORING NAMES THAT HONOR AMERICAN GREATNESS” 20.01.2025. https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/restoring-names-that-honor-american-greatness/

Tsikata, Dzodzi; Aning, Kwesi and4 Barse, Marie. “But it's been more than 50 years! How Africa's resource conflicts are still rooted in colonialism”. https://www.diis.dk/en/research/but-its-been-more-than-50-years-how-africas-resource-conflicts-are-still-rooted-in

Wikipedia. “List over territorial disputes”. November 20, 2025. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_territorial_disputes#Ongoing_disputes_between_UN_member/observer_states

Wikipedia. “Nine-dash line”. October 30, 2025. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nine-dash_line

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