M6 Isarithmic Mapping

I am fan of color! This is my jam, I mean lab. This week we were introduced to isarithmic maps, which are two-dimensional representations of a three-dimensional volume. This lab consisted of taking the state of Washington's annual precipitation data and showing it using continuous tones, hypsometric tints, and overlaying contours and hillshades. This is the best way to show the data because it highlights the elevation data and allows the map reader to see the smooth and continuous rainfall across the state. I learned about PRISM interpolation method, digital elevation model, which was created by some brilliant minded people, and that generally precipitation increases with elevation. Maps like these are great for many fields of study including, agriculture, hydrology, ecology, and engineering just to name a few. Without further ado, the map below shows the annual precipitation data of Washington state in inches with a overlaying contour and hillshade created with ArcGIS tools Int and Contour List (both Spatial Analyst Tools). It was then classified into 10 classes and symbolized using the Precipitation color ramp.

Comments: This was lab was nice and straightforward. No issues and it ran smoothly. I could see myself liking this side of GIS in the future very much, because I see the potential it can have in various fields. It is also fun to see a rainbow of colors on my map and it not be against any map guidelines.

M5: Choropleth and Proportional Symbol Mapping

This week in Computer Cartography class we were introduced to Choropleth maps, which is best used for standardized data. Also, Graduated or Proportional symbols used can make a difference in how the map looks. For the map below, Graduated symbols were utilized to show the comparison between population density and wine consumption from European Countries from 2012 data. You can see that once the data is standardized the size of a country and the wine consumption are not influenced by one another. One thing that did come to light is the Vatican City wins this round with 73.78 liters per capita consumed.

Comments: This lesson was enlightening, but easily confusing as well. The pros and cons of choosing symbols depend on the data, the audience, and the map maker. I wish I knew a better way to make inset maps, but as a map making padawan in only my second semester, the frame within a frame is my only card so far and I could not figure out how to hide data from the extent frame. It will keep me up at night for sure until I figure it out.

M4: Data Classification

This week we dove into data classifications, with an overall goal to represent the four most common ones: equal interval, quantile, standard deviation, and natural breaks. I learned how each one works, and the best ways to use them...along with the pitfalls they may have. The map below is a map that presents the 2010 Census Tract for Percentage of Senior Citizens 65 and up in Miami-Dade County, Florida utilizing the four classification methods from lecture. This shows how each method displays the same data and allowed me to see them up close and personal.

Overall, this lecture and lab was extremely beneficial to my GIS future. Maps are meant to depict data and knowing how to do that accurately is very important to a successful career.

M3: Cartographic Design

This week I learned about how to create visual hierarchy, figure-ground distinctions, contrast and balance. In the map below of Washington D.C. you can see Ward 7 public schools showcased by utilizing these concepts. Using lighter colors for the background and bolder colors for the schoool symbology brings them forward and does not overwhelm the eye, but also distinguishes their different school types. The placements of data around the central map shows an overall balance top to bottom and left to right as best I could manage.

I really enjoyed learning about these finer details of Cartography and did not run into any issues with the lab assignment. My only hiccup, is that I could spend hours on one element and still change my mind, and choosing symbology colors is difficult.

M2: Typography

For this lesson I took a journey into why and how typography is important and the impressions it can have on a viewer. If you did not know before, it is very common for water features to be represented by blue italic text, which distinguishes them from cities or other features labeled on a map. Type distinctions can be in the form of nominal or ordinal differences, and how one represents them can aid a viewer to a easy and fast interpretation. For the map below, you can see that it is clearly Florida, but there are differences in the way water features, cities, and the capital are represented, all of which done with typography. This lesson was informative and shows that even the smallest of details can have a large impact on a map.

Three customization I made are I chose to represent the Capital of Florida by a red star making it stand out amongst the other cities. Second, I was unable to see the river name colors of turquoise dust from the lab instructions, so I chose a bolder blue for the labeling and a lighter blue for the polylines. Lastly, I utilized two different fonts. Sans Serif for towns, and most of my map elements, and Budoni for water, swamps (both in italic) and the title. I noticed I was unable to make Sans Serif italic, but Budoni from the lab instructions had an italic option, so that forced my hand a bit. All accomplished using the Label option in ArcGIS, Convert to Annotation, SQL Query, and Symbology tools for typography changes.

Additional comments: Some setbacks and struggles occurred, mostly due to me being a beginner, but learning new things in ArcGIS is always welcome. A tip to my future self would be to be make sure I see the entire map before using the convert to annotation tool. I continue this journey with a smile and another lesson in my cartography toolkit.

Mod 1: Map Critique

For this lesson we were tasked to evaluate a well-designed map and a poorly-designed map. Using Map Design Principles as well as the 6 Commandments I provided the following synopses:

Image Source: S:\GIS4006\Module1\ExampleMaps\EasterIsland
Evaluation Synopsis: This map of Easter Island deserves an overall grade of being well-designed. Its intention to give the reader a general layout of Easter Island is a well-executed success. It effectively follows the following map design principles: #1. Graphical excellence in the presentation of data. #2. It displays complex ideas communicated with clarity, precision, and efficiency. #7. It is clear, detailed, and thoroughly labeled as to not distort. It follows all 6 commandments with ease. It appeals to my map aesthetic because it has a historical meaning of showing the various ruins and platforms located there, which touches on my passion for history and learning. It also is colorfully pleasing to me, as in it uses pastel hues that are not loud or distracting. Lastly, it is effective in getting the objective across without being overwhelming. Everything in its place has a purpose and makes sense where it was placed.

Image Source: S:\GIS4006\Module1\ExampleMaps\WildlifeAndGameMap
Evaluation Synopsis: This map of the Wildlife and Game in the United States gets an overall grade of poorly designed. It is too chaotic breaking many map design principles such as #1. Graphical excellence is the well-designed presentation of interesting data. #2. Graphical excellence with complex ideas communicated with clarity, precision, and efficiency. #3. Graphical excellence to give the viewer the greatest number of ideas in the shortest time with the least ink and the smallest space. It breaks these because you could stare at this map all day and not see the same thing twice or gather the info you seek. The legend is placed all around the image in a haphazard manner forcing the viewer to look back and forth from the legend to the map. It is not clear, precise, or efficient in getting the objective across. The legend does not convey meaning towards the map itself, but rather duplicates information because animals depicted are not solely seen in just one spot of the map. This map broke all 6 commandments when it was made. Three areas of improvement I would address would be to make sense of the animals in the legend along the map neat line as in they could be placed alphabetically. I would also add a clearly visible scale and north arrow at the bottom of the map above the title. Lastly, I would take out any redundancy because there appears to be more animals located on the map than there are in the legend.

Final Comments: This lesson is a good challenge because I had a set of principles and commandments to follow when critiquing, and because the map may not be what I would of chosen it does not mean that I am unable to come up with an evaluation. It forced me to look not only at the objective of the map, but also beyond to see the finer details from an outsider's view. Paying attention to other maps will certainly come in handy when I am developing my own, so I can either do mine similarly or learn from the mistakes of others.

About Me

My name is Jenna Clevinger, and I joined the UWF GIS Certificate Program in hopes of combining my BA in Anthropology with GIS for an exciting new career. I gained an interest for maps while I was enlisted in the U.S. Navy for 8 years as a Quartermaster. During my time I learned all about navigation and was able to have some interesting land and underwater archaeology volunteer opportunities in my travels. I hope to gain enough knowledge from the program to get my foot in the door of a surveying or realted GIS career. I have drive, passion and willingness to learn. Having a GIS related career my goal, but you never know where life will take you, so I am open to exploration along the way. My Story Map is here.