Here is a VERY detailed map of North American English Dialects by Pronunciation Patterns.
Figure Ground: The figure ground for this map is generally good. Perhaps with such a busy map a lighter color should have been used for the water. Some of the lighter colors on the continent get lost as a result of being lighter than the striking blue surrounding it.
Legibility: Unfortunately, this map is not very legible at all. There is simply too much text with too small of fonts to really allow the reader to make out the words.
Clarity: This map is also not very clear (mostly because of the intense detail). With so many different patterns and symbols, and so much text, the average reader will not be able to make much sense of it. Also, some colors on the map have meaning while others do not. I found myself trying to determine why a region was shaded a certain color and was not able to ascertain a reason. This map may be ideal as an index specifically for academic purposes, but for communicating to most people, it fails.
Balance: There tends to be a little bit of a pull down and to the right on this map. However, becuase of the area being detailed I do not see that it could be avoided.There does appear to be good balance here.
Visual Hierarchy: Relating to the figure ground, the intense blue of the oceans detracts attention from some of the lighter colors on the continent. Also, relating to the clarity, some of the intense colors like the green in the North Central region draw your eye but do not communicate any meaning about the map.
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