Week8_Isarithmic Mapping

Here is my Isarithmic map for this weeks deliverable. Manually interpolating the observation data was straight forward. I had to learn some new tricks to complete the map with shading but overall a good learning experience.

Week9_Flow Map

Week 9’s Flow map was a challenging exercise for illustrating the movement of people to the U.S. This is a distributive flow map utilizing conceptual point locations. I chose a Robinson compromise world projection to make the map layout more interesting. Using the square root of the data values to calculate my line widths made the range more compact and worked well graphically. There was plenty of room to add annotation to each flow line making a legend redundant and unnecessary. The empty space at the lower corners was perfect place for a legend if it were needed. I decided to add the Homeland Security logo and image for visual balance. Illustrator is starting to be more useful with each map completed and I hope to get more proficient and quicker as the weeks go by.

Week8_Dot Maps

While placing dots for this housing density map I considered the provided ancillary data (lakes, rivers and wetlands) as limiting attributes. I also added cities, towns and urban areas as related ancillary data to further influence the dot placement. Add the random/ human factor and the results are this weeks Areal Frequency Map of Florida’s housing units. The biggest challenge was avoiding geometric pattern, false clusters and voids as suggested in the module reading. I chose not to label the counties because my intent was to portray the distribution pattern for the entire state. County lines and lakes are included for reference.

Week7_Proportional Symbols

Another interesting week with Illustrator vs ArcGIS. Used both programs extensively for this map. I Learned a lot about the capabilities of each as well as some essential formulas in excel for scaling symbols correctly. I used the world map shape file from week 2 to fill in the rest of the land mass and projected from space for the key map.

Week6_Choropleth

Both maps were easy enough to start. The devil was in the details.
I used ColorBrewer values for both maps and they look ok on my screen but I have not printed to critique. Aggregating the census data was interesting but tedious. I realized how much it can effect the look of a map and possibly the interpretation. I am starting to find and use more of the tools in Illustrator. Layers and groups are proving to be most useful.

Week5_MapComposition

This weeks lab was more time consuming than I had planned. Learning new software always does that to me, like some kind of time warp. I concentrated on the use of color and composition to tie the map elements together. Labeling each county would have added to the usefulness of this map but I used my time to learn more about the layer and group features in Illustrator.

Week4_Typography

I learned lots of new tricks with Illustrator through trial and error^3. Annotation will never seem the same old boring task. The basics were easy enough but I got caught up in small refinements. I am going to spend some more time with this program because now I am hooked.