Module 3—Cartographic Design in ArcGIS Pro

Module 3 was completed entirely in ArcGIS Pro, although I will likely import it to Adobe Illustrator just for practice. The lab was very straightforward and was a welcome refresher.

For this lab, I produced a map showing public schools in Ward 7 of Washington, D.C. I placed an inset map of Washington, D.C. with an extent indicator for Ward 7. The main map showed Washington, D.C. with Ward 7 in a lighter color. On this map, schools are displayed (in three hues and three sizes) by a school icon, roads are displayed as a line feature of varying weights and colors, and the Anacostia River is displayed by blue (lettering in italics to represent flow). Features not necessary for understanding were selectively excluded.

Ward 7 Public Schools: Cartographic Design using Gestalt Principles

One of the teaching points of this lab was to use Gestalt Principles in the map design:

--Visual Hierarchy— I arranged my map so that more important features stood out. Since schools were the focus of this map, I made the schools larger and brighter to draw attention. All other elements were relegated to a lower rank, to include roads. Interstates, State Highways, and major roads had lighter weights, respectively. Additionally, the roads were placed under the schools in the drawing order so that the schools were superimposed onto the roads if there were overlap. The remainder of the essential map elements were ranked in order of importance with the font and size of the item adjusted accordingly (example: Title was larger than subtitle; data sources was much smaller than subtitle). For areal features, I used lighter colors to draw attention. Therefore, Ward 7 was the lightest of the background colors.

--Contrast—I adjusted the weight of lines and color saturation just like in visual hierarchy. My schools were much brighter and I adjusted the school background to yellow in order to contrast with the background of the map. I made sure my background colors did not clash, but I ensured that areal features were lighter for Ward 7. For background information of lower importance (such as Ward 7 roads), the lines are barely visible so they do not compete with more important features.

--Figure-Ground—Just as in visual hierarchy and contrast, I adjusted colors and line weight to ensure important features stood out and looked closer to the viewer. The schools are different shades of red superimposed in a yellow circle to stand out from the grey background of Ward 7. Ward 7 is a lighter color to stand out from a darker shade of grey for the remainder of Washington, D.C.

--Balance—I utilized a sketch map as a tool to establish balance. Of course, Ward 7 was my main focus, so I centered the map inside a portrait orientation. I then used the open space to fill essential elements. I incorporated the inset map of the district in the upper left corner, which was balanced by the legend, cartographer information, north arrow, and data sources in the lower right corner. I placed the scale bar in the bottom center to balance the title and subtitle and I placed a list of schools (with numbers) in the upper right corner to balance the inset map and the legend group. I chose to place the inset map in the upper left corner because we read from left to right and this was more important than the name of the schools.

As previously stated, this exercise was very straightforward and completed in ArcGIS Pro. I input the data, which was obtained by UWF from District of Columbia Open Data. Once I produced the inset map of the district and the main map of Ward 7, I completed the map design process like previous maps. I ensured the scale was at an even ratio and placed a scale bar in miles with relatable and appropriate numbering. I chose background colors that were neutral, pleasing to the eye, and would add contrast to the schools and roads. In order to reduce the amount of information on the map, I selectively excluded features that were unnecessary for understanding—parks, minor roads, neighborhood clusters, etc.