Distance Cartograms in PowerPoint

Before we dive into the world of distance cartograms (don’t worry, we’ll get there!), let’s start with the basics. Imagine if a map and a chart had a baby—that adorable offspring would be called a cartogram. It’s part geography, part data visualization, and all about making complex info easier to understand.

Instead of showing places just as they are, cartograms stretch, shrink, or reshape areas based on data. Think of it like a balloon animal version of a map—still recognizable, but twisted to tell a story.

So, if regular maps are like GPS directions, cartograms are more like infographics with a sense of direction.

Nowadays, popular cartograms are of two types:

1. Area Cartograms

Imagine if countries went to the gym—not to build muscle, but to bulk up based on their population. That’s exactly what area cartograms do! Instead of showing countries by their actual land size, these maps pump them up (or shrink them down) based on other data—like how many people live there.

In a population-based cartogram, geographic boundaries are redefined by data weight rather than landmass. Densely populated nations like India and China expand dramatically, reflecting their demographic significance. Meanwhile, geographically large but sparsely populated countries—such as Canada or Australia—contract visually, underscoring their lighter data footprint.

It’s like giving your map a makeover—less about geography, more about storytelling through stats. Figure 1, below, shows this transformation in action. Who knew maps could be so dramatic?

Source: Global Geographic Topic - Population Patterns - Patterns
Figure 1: Area Cartogram

2. Distance Cartograms

If regular maps are like road trips with GPS, distance cartograms are more like doodling with purpose. They don’t follow the usual rules of geography—instead, they use concentric circles (think bullseyes or onion layers!) to show how far things are, or how much time or money it takes to get there.

So, forget longitude and latitude—this is more about “how long will it take me to reach the donut shop from here?” than “where exactly is it on the globe?”

Now, creating fancy Area Cartograms in PowerPoint? That’s like trying to bake a cake in a toaster—not what the tool was built for. But here’s the good news: Distance Cartograms are totally doable using PowerPoint’s built-in Shapes and the magical Merge Shape commands. No cartography degree required—just a little creativity and some circle-clicking fun!

How to Draw Distance Cartograms in PowerPoint?

Follow these steps to create a Distance Cartogram in PowerPoint:

1. Launch PowerPoint. PowerPoint usually greets you with a new slide, often with some text placeholders already in place—like pre-filled suggestions. Time to clear the clutter! Change the Slide Layout to Blank. To do so, go to the Home tab, click Layout, and choose Blank. Think of it as wiping the whiteboard clean before you start doodling your masterpiece. No title boxes, no bullet points—just pure, unfiltered creative space.

2. Blank Layout has no Title

   Think of the Blank slide as a digital sketchpad with no lines and no labels—just room to swirl those spirals without bumping into a text box begging for a title. The idea of a “blank canvas” dates back centuries to artists priming their boards before painting. Even Picasso had to start with a bare surface—so you’re in good company.

   Sure, that Blank layout in PowerPoint is like the rebel of the slide family—no title, no placeholders, just a wide-open dance floor. But here's a little secret: even when you don't want a title box cramping your design, it's still smart to include a title behind the scenes. Yes, there is merit in all slides having a title, especially for accessibility reasons, even if it is not visible on the slide itself. To know more, read our Hiding Slide Titles in PowerPoint tutorial.

2. Now it’s time to grab a shape—specifically, the Oval. Head over to the Insert tab, bring up the Shapes gallery, and pick the Oval shape.
3. Once you’ve picked the Oval shape, go ahead and click anywhere on your slide—like tossing a dart at a blank canvas. Poof! PowerPoint will drop in a ready-made circle, usually about 1 inch by 1 inch. That’s roughly the size of a bottle cap or a large coin—perfect for starters!
4. Figure 2, below, shows what this little circle looks like when it lands. It’s your blank bubble of possibility—ready to be used as a shape in your Distance Cartogram.
5. 
   Figure 2: Click to insert circle shape

6. Ovals and Circles

   A circle is an oval that has identical width and height attributes. Learn how to draw a perfect circle in PowerPoint

4. Now it’s time to draw more circles—as many as you need. Think of it like making a stack of pancakes, each one slightly bigger than the last. Once your circles are on the slide, resize them so they grow sequentially—each one a little larger than the previous, by the same amount. That’s your secret sauce for visual harmony. It’s like lining up Russian nesting dolls, but in reverse!
5. For this tutorial, we drew and resized five perfect circles – each subsequent circle was larger by 1 inch, as shown in Figure 3, below.
6. 
   Figure 3: Five perfect circles larger than each other by 1 inch
5. Select all circles, as shown in Figure 4, below.
6. 
   Figure 4: Select all circle shapes
6. Thereafter, align all selected circles together by choosing the Align Middle and Align Center options to end up with what you see in Figure 5, below.
7. 
   Figure 5: Selected circle shapes aligned to middle and center
7. Group all the circles as one object, as shown in Figure 6, below.
8. 
   Figure 6: Group all circles into one object
8. Now, ungroup all the circles, as shown in Figure 7, below.
9. 
   Figure 7: Ungroup Circles
9. With the shapes selected, as shown in Figure 7, above, access the Shape Format tab of the Ribbon, as shown highlighted in red within Figure 8, below. Within the Shape Format tab, click the Merge Shapes | Fragment option.
10. 
    Figure 8: Shape Fragement

11. No Fragment Option?

    The Fragment option within Merge Shapes is only available in PowerPoint 2013 for Windows and higher versions.

10. Now that you’ve sliced and diced your shapes just right, you’ve got yourself a batch of perfectly cut donuts—not the kind you eat, but the kind you can recolor, fill, and turn into data magic. Think of each donut as a mini pie chart with a hole in the middle. You can paint them, decorate them, and use them to show numbers, patterns, or anything else your audience needs to know. It’s like turning plain dough into a sprinkle-covered infographic!
11. In Figure 9, below, we’ve pulled apart these donut shapes so you can see exactly what we’ve cooked up. Compare it with Figure 4, shown previously on this page, and you’ll notice how far we’ve come—from raw ingredients to a delicious data display.
12. 
    Figure 9: Perfectly cut doughnut shapes

At this point, you know how to create a basic distance cartogram. Next, let us explore how you can use the created structure of cartograms in our Advanced Distance Cartograms in PowerPoint tutorial.