Module 1--Poorly Designed and Well Designed Maps

For the first module, I had to pick a map that well designed and a map that was poorly designed and critique it based on a template.

I had the opportunity to work in Washington, DC for almost five years. I will tell you that I was a little intimidated by the Metro until I road it the first time. People are justifiably proud of their Metro system (despite issues several years ago) and it serves the community well...it is indispensable.

DC Metro Map, Courtesy of WMATA, 2019.

As anyone can see, this is a very simple map that uses bold colors to show the Metro lines. The colors also correspond with the actual line names. Only basic information is added to the map to keep the viewer oriented. This includes the Potomac River in the middle, the borders of the DMV, and neighboring counties. The only element missing is the scale; however, this map is not drawn to scale (stated just below the north arrow). If it were drawn to scale, the map would be confusing, large, and not as intuitive. Besides, distance does not really matter. Time matters. Besides, most new riders and tourists track which station they need are heading to, the number of stations that have passed, and the number to go. To me, this is a very effective map.

On the other hand, I viewed the Easter Island map. At first blush, it appeared very good and I actually started my assignment choosing this map as a well designed map. As I went through the evaluation process, I changed my mind.

Easter Island, Courtesy of UWF.

There are a lot of issues with this map. Though it is attractive and centers on Easter Island, there are number of deficiencies:

--There is no title. I can assume Easter Island, even though the name of the island is in the water.

--The Moai represent Ahus and the Moai are represented by dots. This does not make sense, as the Moai symbols should represent Moai, which are ubiquitous to Easter Island.

--The Moai, ruins, and populated places are all symbolized by dots. It is difficult to tell which symbol represents which item, especially when dots are close together.

--The road symbols and the population symbols are not quantified.

--I am not sure what the names next to the Moai symbols represent--are these cities or the name of the Ahu?

--The scale bar has 5km,which is easy to relate to; however, the scale incorporates a little over 3 miles. I would have had two scales.

--Because the Easter Island scale has miles and kilometers, the inset scale should also have miles and the elevation scale (not labeled) should integrate feet.

Despite these issues, the map could be used for a middle school project to orient students. However, there is not enough information for a tourist map nor is there enough information or accuracy for a research project.

Projections

In this lab, I learned to download data (from FGDL) and input it into a project. We then explored projections and learned that ArcGIS Pro requires data sets to be in the same projection (on the fly reprojecting) to be displayed together and have full functionality for analysis.

To demonstrate how different projections alter the orientation, size, compression, etc. of map features, I compared four Florida counties. By transforming the county data set to Albers, UTM, and State Plane, I produced three maps with an associated data comparison of area.

I then worked with raster projections and learned to input my chosen coordinate system. This will ensure the JPEG World File (.jgw) will have the correct coordinate system, resulting in a correct location display. I am very comfortable with UTM, because I am in the military and work extensively with MGRS, which is based on UTM.

Comparison of County Area Outputs Using the Albers, UTM, and the State Plane North Projections

Produced by Terry J. Dokey, January 22, 2020

University of West Florida Main Campus
Produced  by: Terry J. Dokey, 1/17/2020

This is my Lab 2 Assignment, Cartography.  This map is designed for visitors who wish to know a macro-scale version of the location of the University of West Florida. The map is not intended for navigation, as I have shaded the different areas and only highlighted (in color) important points.

In the upper right hand corner, I have an insert that shows the state of Florida's counties in grey and Escambia County, the location of UWF, in pink.

The main portion of the map has Escambia County in transparent pink and the surrounding counties in transparent green.  The major rivers are in blue, the main interstates are in red, only the two largest neighboring cities. Because UWF's location is the purpose of the map, it is symbolized with a star.

To ensure the viewers could orient and understand the map, I included a north seeking arrow (upper right), a scale in both the insert and the lower portion of the main map, and a legend (lower right).  I also included cartographer and bibliographic references to ensure credibility, attribution/credit, and ensure reproduction.  Finally, I added the UWF symbol to dress things up and further demonstrate the purpose of the map.

I chose all the colors to work with the best interest of the viewer. Everything I have learned so far demonstrates that the map is a contract between the cartographer and viewer. Therefore, all elements should be approached with the viewer and purpose in mind.

Lab Assignment 1

Today, I completed the first lab assignment.  It was a little bit of a challenge for me, but I mitigated quite a bit of the challenge by having two monitors.  I definitely recommend that you have about a 24 inch monitor in addition to your laptop monitor. It made things quite a bit easier and reduced the amount of clicking and minimizing.  The instructions for the lab were very easy to follow, but I second-guessed myself for the file path because the abbreviated example did not contain the same data.  I have also learned that I reduce my frustration by first downloading the process summary and printing the instructions and then logging onto Google Drive and opening the GIS application.  This way, I can have all the information I need without moving between the virtual desktop and my own desktop.  All in all, it was a fun assignment, but I think I will practice a little more so that I can seamlessly navigate between folders before the labs become more difficult. As for the map itself, I just followed the instructions as written to include the symbology choice (Circle 1).  I chose green for my color ramp because I wanted it to transition from lighter to darker and I did not want to use blue because I felt it would confuse the viewer because the oceans are blue. I then saved it to the S drive and the Google Drive.

Terry's Lab 1 Deliverable--World Countries (Topographic)