Addison's GIS Journey

This lab was focused on using typographic principles to label various features on a map. Understanding the basic elements of typography can help influence your map's legibility. It is important to create maps that are readable and effectively communicate geographic information. Selecting the right font style, size, and placement can impact the legibility of your map.  The map below was created using ArcGIS pro and data layers were given. The map represents major features across the state of Florida. The labeling tab was used to label all the key features on the map, such as the cities, rivers, and swamp/marsh land. Within the labeling tab the font style, size, and color were edited to match the feature it was associated with.  A customization I did on the map was altering the color scheme according to the features. The water features are all shades of blue, and the swamp/marsh areas are a muddy green. Cities on map are symbolized with dots and the capital is symbolized with a ...

The first week of cartography helped to understand common map design principles, and identifying good versus bad map designs. An important part of cartography is understanding and developing cartographic styles in accordance with established principles. Edward Tufte's 20 map design principles were combined into "6 commandments." These commandments emphasize that information on the map should be substantial and effectively labeled, the map should be accurate, and to minimize any extra elements that are non essential. Two maps were evaluated for the lab one good map and one bad map. Good map design The map I chose for the good map design depicts Easter Island. The map shows the island in the middle with the supporting map elements balanced around it over the open water. The legend is descriptive and concise, showing the audience landmarks around the island. A color gradient legend is also given to show the change in elevation throughout the island. An inset map is also incl...

Hello! My name is Addison and I am originally from Pensacola. I graduated from the University of West Florida in 2022 with a bachelors in marine biology. I am currently working full time for the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. I joined the program because I had been interested in GIS and wanted to gain knowledge and skills in the GIS world. I hope to use what I learn from these courses to further my career. Story map  link:  https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/6726b64d434d4cab92ee442ccb2026f5