For this week's assignment in the Computer Cartography course, we had the opportunity to view many different maps with various cartographic approaches and styles, and critique two of them.
This is beneficial to the process of developing our own cartographic style. When I attended art school, it was normal for us to critique work on a regular basis. Cartography is an art medium in itself and, because maps often represent objective data, the requirement of certain elements becomes essential to ensuring that a map is honest, clear, and useful (when applicable). In this case, we were to pick a map that we believed to be "well designed" and another that is "poorly designed" and complete an assessment. For the well designed map, I chose the one below:
This map represents the Game Zones within South Carolina's Wildlife Management Area.
The map I chose as "well designed" included all the essential map elements, such as a relevant scale bar, North arrow, clear Legend, credits with a data, and title. Additionally, there are labels that make the map easy to understand. One element I think could be added is an inset locator map, showing where this region of South Carolina is located. Although this doesn't completely take away from the map, it would provide a better orientation for viewers. The darker color along the borders of the zones helps to differentiate, and creates a pleasant aesthetic when combined with the efficient use of negative space.
For the second, or "Poorly designed map, " I chose one that shows the tracks of hurricanes from 1851-2005, which I only know because of the title of the .jpeg file. Otherwise, I would not know a single thing about this map - especially the time period. There is no title, legend, or explanation. Additionally, the projection greatly distorts the continents - making Greenland look huge. It is interesting and fun to look at, especially knowing that the lines are showing hurricane tracks for such a large period, but the map overall could be misleading or difficult for viewers to understand. It is intriguing to look at, and could gain the interest of many different ages with the right explanation.
The map above depicts hurricane tracks from 1851-2005.
Cartography is a subjective method of displaying objective information, which is a tricky combination. Refining map designing skills can make it easier for computer cartographers, and GIS specialists, to properly summarize important data. I think the well designed map, or the first map above, is a good representation of the style I am fond of, while the map right above is poorly designed, but portrays information about a subject I am greatly interested in.
And on to the next assignment - back to making maps!
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