GIS 5050 Week 2 - Cartography: Layout and Essential Map Elements


For the second assignment students were tasked with creating a map highlighting the University of West Florida (UWF) Main Campus. The idea of the assignment was to help students become familiar with the map production process and all of the essential elements, from the first step of identifying the purpose of the map and the key points to the last step of exporting the map for use/viewing outside of ArcGIS Pro. Some of the other steps included reviewing the data and meta data, symbolizing the data layers, and ensuring all map elements were included. 

In the map I created (pictured above), I choose to stick with gray tones for all of the background information and use a light green to display Escambia County, where the UWF main campus can be found. I then decided on a blue star to highlight the exact location of the campus because it matches the color of the school logo, displayed next to the map title. Also included is an inset map displaying all of Florida and highlighting Escambia County in red to give the map reader a better idea of where Escambia County is located in the grand scheme of things. 

Overall I found this assignment to be quite satisfying. It continued to help me become more familiar with the ArcGIS Pro interface and focused on one of the things I enjoy most, creating and symbolizing a map. Playing around with the various elements, symbols, colors and styles to end up with a well produced map always gives me a sense of satisfaction. 

 

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