Flow Line Mapping Module 10

Migration into the U.S. 2007

This lab required me to create a flow line map, like those nice and pretty ones you see on the news stations. To decided the how wide the lines should be I first choose how large the largest line would be and the rest are proportional to the first. When creating a flow line map the lines must not cover any of the map area. That is the toughest part of a map such as this. To add a little flare to the map I also made the slow lines 3D and added some shading to them.

Choropleth Mapping Module 7

In this lab, I produced two choropleth maps showing population change in the United States of America. I used census data to illustrate the percent population change of each state for the period of April 1, 1990 to April 1, 2000. I used both ArcGIS and Adobe Illustrator to complete this assignment. 

A choropleth map is a thematic map in which enumeration units are shaded with an intensity proportional to the data values associated with those units.

The first map displayed population change percentage at the State Level. I used the Natural break method for the first map to split of the data. For this map I selected a light to dark khaki color ramp to show the change.

The second map will display population change at the level of U.S. Census Divisions.

On the second map I manually created the breaks into even divisions.

Typography Module 4

This map was created in Adobe Illustrator. The purpose of this lab was to employ proper typography within the map. I added the labels to the map and ensured that the font, font size, and placement all worked together. I required to put three personal touches on the map. Can you tell what they are?

Introduction to Adobe Illustrator Module 2

Here is a basic map I created with ArcGIS and Adobe Illustrator. This was my first experience with Illustrator. I quickly found that this program is very powerful and will take some time to learn. I would say master, but by the time that happens they will have moved to the next version. The user interface is simple to pickup as it is organized much like Arc from the brief exposure to it. This map was created from a map that was already created within Arc minus the labeling. I exported this map from Arc as a .ai and imported that file in Illustrator. Once in Illustrator I organized the different layers and groups so that the data in the file could easily be manipulated. It was important that the scale bar and the county groups were within the same layer; If they were not in the same layer the scale bar would not be adjusted to the counties when the map is resized. The final step was to add text to the map. I added the title, name, date, and data source via the text tool. Once I was happy with the map I exported it as a jpeg to be shared.