在缺乏明確的地圖圖面配置指導原則下，使用各種商業電腦繪圖軟體時，仍需以交談方式進行配置之編輯，使大量的地理資訊無法有效率地作表達，形成展示過程的一個瓶頸。因此有必要先將圖面配置納入能自動處理的程序，而其基礎之一則仰賴各圖元之間大小關係知識體系的建立。本文回顧了過去在地圖學中探討到與圖元配置大小相關的理論，提出圖元大小間相互關係之研究架構。利用搜集到的一百二十幅各種類型的地圖樣本，以敘述統計、相關性和迴歸方程式等統計方法，分析了各圖元與各圖元文字之間的大小關係。並歸納出各圖元間較具體的相關程度與迴歸方程式，以供建構自動化地圖設計者使用。

Without precise rules for layout design, complicated geographic data cannot be presented effectively, and computer mapping can only be achieved under interactive manipulation. Therefore, automation of layout design relies on systemactic comprehension of the implicit rules about the relationship on size of map elements in good layout designs and further implementation by computer programming. The purpose of this study is to analyze and deduce the rules implicated in well-designed maps. One hundred and twenty maps of various kinds were collected, descriptive, correlation and regression analyses were applied to examine the correlation of the relationship on size among different map elements presented in these maps. Regressions were derived and can be used to facilitate automatic mapping.