One little thing I usually do is overload my map with spawns. I don't see any downside to it.
You're required to have at least 8 of each team's spawns but you should definitely place more if you're not out of budget.
The more possible places you can spawn, the more options the game's "spawn far away from enemy but close to base icon" logic has. And it'll be less likely to put you in the same spot you just spawned before. Nothing builds frustration like having no choice but to run down the same path and get killed again multiple times. Even if it's only five feet away, it'll look just a little bit different so the player won't begin to tire of repetition.
Also about spawns, always try to accommodate all modes. Having spawn points completely surround an Uprising point makes it hard to capture and may ruin the map for that mode. You want both teams to have equally easy access to at least one Uprising point. For CTD you want your spawns closer to the diamonds for your team. Too far away and you might die while defending it only to take another 40 seconds to get back there after you respawn, by that time the enemy may have escaped and scored with your diamond.
If you're going to place a lot of spawns, don't have them overlap each other. That is, don't have APR and UFLL right next to each other. This almost always results in one team getting trashed right off the bat. Occasionally it gets confusing when you end up spawning closer to the enemy's base than they do. It screws up map flow and causes players to lose their sense of where to go.
Naturally, the rules don't apply if you're making a special type of map. Like maps where all the team spawns are overlapped and there are no bases. This make a team free-for-all which is great fun, and given the layout of the map, you likely won't see any spawnkilling.
Other maps where the diamonds are reversed are fun. Or ones where the diamonds are right next to each other, but away from the team spawns make a King-of-the-hill type game mode.
Fallen Champ said one of the best simple rules for spawns and map size/layout/design. "Always make you maps so it takes no longer than a minute at the maximum to find an enemy." A full minute of complete cease-fire is really boring for a shooting game and usually makes people leave the match or give a low rating.
I also try to keep spawns away from roads where vehicles will drive, away from explosives or ammo crates, away from edges so they don't spawn, take two steps, and fall to their death, and also keep them away from really good camping spots. There's nothing wrong with a point in the map that grants a serious advantage, just don't let people bunker down before they even move. Make them have to go find a good spot, not just be dropped there from the start.
Poor placement of spawns can ruin even the best maps. Decent spawn placement is easy to do and I rarely see any stupid spawns these days. But that little extra thought and time into your spawns can make your map that much more fun to play.
(Not that I'm a spawn-point-master or anything, I know what's fun and what's not though.
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