Style dynamic maps
Amazon Location Service provides two options for styling your dynamic maps: using predesigned AWS Map Styles or customizing the map style using style descriptors.
Use predesigned AWS map styles
AWS map styles are predefined styles that adhere to industry standards to deliver a sophisticated, professional aesthetic. By leveraging these styles in Amazon Location Service, you can reduce time-to-market and eliminate the need for dedicated cartographers to create map styles from scratch.
For more information, see AWS map styles and customization.
To learn more about predefined map styles, see:
Benefits of using AWS map styles
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Time and resource efficiency: AWS Map Styles allow you to bypass the time-consuming and resource-intensive process of designing map styles from scratch. This allows you to focus on core functionalities while providing visually appealing maps.
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Professional and consistent aesthetics: Skilled cartographers have meticulously crafted AWS Map Styles, following industry best practices. Every detail, from color palettes to label placements, has been optimized for clarity and legibility.
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Seamless integration: AWS Map Styles integrate seamlessly with your application's design language, providing a polished and consistent mapping experience for your end-users.
Get started with AWS map styles
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Check the AWS map styles offering: In the Amazon Location Service console, navigate to the Map section to explore the available styles.
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Choose the style that matches your needs: Select the style that best aligns with your application's design and user experience requirements.
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Integrate the style: Follow the provided documentation to integrate the chosen style into your application using Amazon Location Service APIs or SDKs.
Learn more about How to display a map.
Use cases
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Customizing map styles based on color schemes like "Light" or "Dark".
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Displaying maps according to specific political views or geographic boundaries.
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Optimizing map styles for different use cases, such as logistics or default views.
Understand the request
The request supports parameters like ColorScheme, Key, and PoliticalView to define the map's style and presentation. The Style parameter is required to specify the desired map style.
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ColorScheme: Sets the map's color tone, such as "Light" or "Dark". -
PoliticalView: Specifies the political view for map visualization. -
Style: Defines the style of the map, like "Standard" or "Monochrome".
Understand the response
The response provides headers like CacheControl, ContentType, and ETag, and contains the style descriptor as a JSON blob. The headers give caching information, content format details, and versioning for style changes.
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CacheControl: Controls caching configurations for the style descriptor. -
ContentType: Indicates the response format as JSON. -
ETag: Provides a version identifier for the style descriptor. -
Blob: Contains the body of the style descriptor in JSON format.
Customize style descriptors
To customize map styles, you must understand the structure of the style descriptor, which is usually a JSON object defining the visual representation of map elements. The style descriptor comprises several layers, each controlling the style for a specific type of map element, such as roads, parks, buildings, or labels.
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Use a predefined style descriptor as a base: You can either start with a predefined style descriptor or create one from scratch using map style editors such as Maputnik
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Understand the structure: The style descriptor is a hierarchical JSON object that contains layers, each representing a different map element. Each layer has properties that control the visual appearance of that element, such as color, opacity, and line width.
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Modify styles for layers: Depending on the map style editor you’re using, you can change existing layers or add new ones to customize the style. For example, you can adjust the color of roads, modify the font size of labels, or add custom icons for specific locations.
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Define styles for different zoom levels: Map style editors allow you to define different styles for different zoom levels, which is useful for controlling the level of detail and visibility based on user zoom interactions.
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Test and iterate: After modifying or creating the style descriptor, test the customized style on a map to ensure it displays as intended. Iterate and adjust until you achieve the desired visual style.
