1. GIS Brownbag Series Making Maps that Communicate

2. Making Maps that Communicate Most important question: communicate what? Share information Highlight patterns and processes Illustrate results Planning Create an interesting and visually pleasing picture Primary goal: Secondary goal:

3. Warning: “map creator is very much the arbiter and architect of what the map portrays” Drawbacks of maps: Maps can lie Making Maps that Communicate

4. Key points: Maps convey information Maps must be easy to use – easy to interpret Maps must be transportable Large number of people must be able to use those maps In this context, what are the advantages of a GIS over traditional paper maps? Making Maps that Communicate

5. A good map is a map that communicates well A good map….. Looks good.. Is simple and elegant.. Is fit for intended purpose Which of those three is the most important?

6. What you map will look like is determined by.. 1.Purpose 2.Reality (e.g. shape of a country may determine the layout of the map) 3.Available data (Is the data in raster format? Are your rivers polygons or lines?) 4.Map scale (Determines how much area is covered on a map) 5.Audience (How much knowledge do they have? Do they want summaries?) 6.Conditions where the map is used (light levels of areas where map is being used) 7.Technical limits (paper map? Paper size? Internet browser constraints?)

7. Map elements Main focus If comparing maps, there could be two map bodies

8. Area of interest in more detail or Location of Map Body in smaller scale map Map elements

10. Map elements: scales Scale bar: Scale text:

11. Map elements: North Arrows

12. Map elements: Metadata

13. A good map is a map that communicates well Key point for making a good map Key point for making a good map: Purpose of the map Show a location? Directions? Trend? Every map should have only 1 purpose

15. Who will read your map? Why is this important to consider? Target the person least prepared to understand you map’s message Include enough information so that this hypothetical person can understand the map Is anybody in the audience color blind? About 1 out of every 20 people is colorblind. Key points for making a good map: Audience Purpose Audience

16. Purpose Audience Size and scale Handheld maps Handheld maps (roadmaps) Smallest font is six points six points Can support complex and detailed symbology

17. Keep content simple Use simple symbols Purpose Audience Size and scale Tiny Maps

18. Keep it simple Simple symbology Why, given this is a large-scale map? Viewed from large distances Large Maps

19. A good map is a map that communicates well You want to direct your audience to your message Message: Ada county has the largest population in Idaho

20. A good map is a map that communicates well Focus Where does the map reader look first? Position …. Experiment: write down the first number that you see...

21. 174133 116221 192714 12 31 22

23. 174133 116221 192714 12 31 22

25. 174117 116221 192714 12 31 22

27. How could you make this map better? Better map: Use colors to get your message across

28. How to make a visually pleasing map… Balance: placement of the title

29. How to make a visually pleasing map… Tip: Place the title slightly closer to the elements on the map than the top of the page

30. Too much white space Object of interest is so small that it is hard to read Scale is in awkward numbers Legend has too much unimportant information

31. Black and White Maps What do you think of the legend? Some classes have identical coloring Not intuitive: color for medium burn is most intense…

32. Round numbers for the scale Very good use of patterns

33. Symbology: Conventions Part of a 7.5-minute topo- graphic map at 1:24,000 scale produced by the USGS Rules about: Colors (e.g. water is blue) How certain features are abstracted Symbols that are universally recognized

34. Sticking with Conventions at IDWR You can find layer (.lyr) files on the X: drive that contain symbolization

37. ArcGIS let’s you choose from many symbols Pick a symbol that makes sense

38. Symbols should be intuitive What can you tell about this map even without the legend? Symbolizing points: Quantities Earthquakes

39. Symbolizing points: Categories Use different symbols to symbolize categories

40. Tips for selecting colors Most People can only distinguish 7 classes For 4-5 classes uses shades of the same color People interpret darker colors as “more” or “greater” It is easier to distinguish shades of blue or purple Use common sense: bright green may be lush vegetation, brown is desert, bright red is hazard

41. Next Brown Bag Lunch: CCleaner –presented by Glen Gardiner Wednesday July 15 Interested in a specific topic for future lecture? Contact Wilma 287-4830