{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,6]],"date-time":"2026-06-06T15:56:19Z","timestamp":1780761379548,"version":"3.54.1"},"reference-count":58,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"2","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,1,21]],"date-time":"2025-01-21T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1737417600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["IJGI"],"abstract":"<jats:p>This study examines the understanding of tourist maps in Croatian national parks, emphasizing a user-centered approach to enhancing cartographic design, the tourist experience, and map readability. Although tourist maps are widely used, there is limited research evaluating these cartographic products, particularly in terms of their comprehensibility and effectiveness in communicating spatial information. To address this gap, we examined existing cartographic materials published by Croatian national park authorities in line with recognized cartographic standards. An online questionnaire, completed by 132 participants of varying ages and educational backgrounds, was used to evaluate the understanding of Point of Interest (POI) pictograms. The results obtained within both gap analysis and needs assessment underscore the need for user-centered improvements in cartographic communication and provide a foundation for the development of more effective map designs tailored to user needs.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ijgi14020041","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,1,21]],"date-time":"2025-01-21T11:47:32Z","timestamp":1737460052000},"page":"41","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":3,"title":["Evaluating Cartographic Communication in Croatian National Parks: User Perceptions of Pictograms"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"14","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6471-4702","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Iva","family":"Cibili\u0107","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Geodesy, University of Zagreb, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6335-6942","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Vesna","family":"Poslon\u010dec-Petri\u0107","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Geodesy, University of Zagreb, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,1,21]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Henderson, G., and Waterstone, M. 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