GIS 5007 - Typography

During week 2 of the Cartography course we were introduced to typography, generalization and scale conversion. Typography refers to the art of arranging, using and designing type. This is important as type can influence the way information on a map is communicated to the reader. Generalization refers to the process of aggregating data on a map, in various ways, to reduce congestion, conflict and complication. This is also important in ensuring that the map produced is legible to the reader, in particular when reducing the scale of a map. As it relates to scale conversion, the importance of understanding scale conversion presents itself when a map may contain a scale that does not match the intended use of the map user/reader. 

We also continued to learn about essential map elements, inclusive of a map title, scale bar, north arrow (orientation), legend, data source, author and production date. The map below, of Florida, includes the various essential map elements and labels in accordance with cartographic conventions.

Map of Florida, USA.

To create the map, relevant Florida data was added to the ArcPro software, which allows geospatial layers to be displayed and customized, labels were applied based on attribute data and map elements placed. For this map, I chose to begin with a light gray base map that provides reference as it relates to location but does not take the attention away from Florida, which is the focus of the map. Additionally, the inset map included as location reference was kept in light gray to maintain consistency and, again, limit distraction. As it relates to the main features of the map, I usually prefer a green color for land, unless another important feature of the map is being highlighted using green. I also like to use lighter shades of blue for water bodies, while utilizing deeper blues for the water body labels. The labels for the water bodies in this map were italicized and given a .5 halo to allow the label to be distinguished from the background colors. The labels for the major cites were added in a sans serif font, maintaining a font size of  9 except in the case of the capital city of Tallahassee, which was sized at 11. For me it was important that the labels were large enough to read but small enough that the labels did not overwhelm the map, in particular because this map is a letter sized map. Lastly, as it relates to the placement of the essential map elements I decided to utilize the empty space in the bottom left corner of the page. This provides a more balanced look as Florida's land mass is mostly in the northern and eastern sides of the page. 

Of course, there are many more details that went into creating this map, although it may appear fairly simple. However, the edits mentioned above are the key customizations made. As cartography is one of my favorite aspects of GIS, I look forward to showcasing the many maps to come in this course.