Intro to Graphic Design with Adobe Illustrator

Just as the title says, this week was an introduction to graphic design with Adobe Illustrator. While I am used to producing maps in ArcMap and find it easier and quicker to use, I can definitely see the value in AI for a cartographer. This week I chose the portrait layout for this assignment because it is my preference to highlight the shape of Florida which is more elongated than it is wide. I changed the font of the title (FLORIDA) to Algerian and set it to bold at 60pt. I felt like the font that I chose was bright, artistic, and added some flavor to an otherwise simple map. I set the state nickname as a subtitle, chose a different font MV Boli, 24pt, and 80% opacity. The state capital, Tallahassee, was written at 14pt with the standard ArcGIS capital symbol, while the two major cities, Jacksonville and Tampa, were labeled at 12pt with the ArcGIS city symbol. I chose to eliminate the Swamps and Marshes layer from the map because they took up a large portion in two areas. I felt leaving them in added extra attention which was not pertinent for a basic state map. Streams and lakes were the hydrographic features displayed. Since streams were thinner and harder to discern on the map, I chose a darker blue to help make them stand out more, while I went with a light blue for the lakes. I did a basic map frame by using the rectangle tool and sizing it to my aesthetic. I displayed the state bird with a title (mockingbirds are common but I would say less known by sight than a Bald Eagle) and the state seal. Honestly, I spent most of my time getting familiar with Adobe Illustrator since it is my first time using the software. Photoshop has always been overwhelming for me but I have never taken a structured course using it. The AI interface is complex for a new user but after a few do-overs and learning what layers to click and how to isolate when I am working on them really helped me feel more comfortable. There was a good portion of time spent using the selection and rectangle tool. I would like to learn how to make fancier borders for data frames, titles, and legends, but right now I feel good that I could produce minor elevations to a basic map.

Map Critique

The first lab assignment for Cartography is Module 1: Map Critique. We were instructed to locate one well designed map and one poorly designed map and evaluate each using the map design principles. The well designed map I chose was a geographical map of Mora County, New Mexico. The map was beautifully structured with a good layout and contained all of the important map elements. There was an inset map, two scale bars (one for elevation and one for distance), all of the roadways in the county, and relief was shown for the mountainous terrain. It also contained a well structured legend and data source. The layout and aesthetic design of this map is one I aspire to obtain in my own map making skills. The map that I chose for the poorly designed map really paled in comparison to the map of Mora County, New Mexico. It was a map of the United State's capital populations in 1999. The map author chose to use different sized circles to show the different populations. This pushed some of the city labels off of the map and the big circles even took up space in multiple states. The author should have used a choropleth map to show the different population. I would have chosen different shades of brown to correspond with the population, with the lighter colors going for the less populated and the darkest for the most populated..There were many map elements missing from the map such as a north arrow, scale bar, border, data source, and author name. The map is also not effectively labeled due to some of the large circles crowding space on the map of the United States. Indianapolis is off of the map and located up near the map title. Santa Fe has double spacing where it should be single spaced. The legend only contains numbers to the corresponding circles with no units. The map layout is poorly designed with too much blank space and a legend that is too near the actual map space. The map title should be capitalized. This map is bland and awkward to look at.





We also downloaded Adobe Illustrator and practiced opening a simple map we produced and shared via ArGIS online. I am looking forward to future lab assignments to learn this new ArcGIS version. I currently feel comfortable with the ArcMap 10.4 version, as I use that at work. The new version seems easy enough to follow. The assignment did not take me very long and in fact, I had time to go through it twice.

All About Sarah Owen

Greetings! This is the second course I am taking in pursuit of my Master's Certificate in GIS from the University of West Florida. I took last semester off because I moved to Houston,TX, bought my first home, switched jobs twice, and got married. I am so excited to get back on track though because GIS is FUN! I completed my BS in Geology from the University of Houston in December 2015. After graduation, I moved near Austin, TX and worked on a Google Maps project. This experience really cemented the realization that I love mapping. Thus, I made the decision to go back to school to get certified to gain knowledge and make myself more marketable for employment. In 2018, I landed my first GIS job working with ArcMap for Centerpoint Energy. Unfortunately, I came on when the project was wrapping up, so I was only able to work there for 8 months. In October, I got hired on another project, this time for Plains All American. I am working as a GIS Data Integration Specialist. My job consists of locating pipelines through ArcMap, extracting pertinent data, and entering it into PODS. My goal is to get a GIS Analyst position where I can produce maps and perform data analysis. I am confident that when I complete the program at UWF, I will be ready for this type of position.

I decided to base my Story Map on the past year of my life. It was an incredible year for me in so many ways. Personal and professional growth abound, 2018 will always be in my memories. If you would like to take the journey, please click on the link below!

https://arcg.is/1bXSrT