GIS3015 - Module 1 - Map Critique

Well-Designed

I chose the Ancestry Map, provided for this Module, as an example of a well-designed map.  The purpose of this map is to show the ancestry with the largest population in counties across the United States.  The "look and feel" of this map is informative and authoritative.  The map is very organized and uses subtle, cool colors.  I felt this map showed "graphical excellence" as described in Tufteism #1 (well-designed presentation of interesting data).  The intended audience for this map could be of secondary school age or older.   Those persons interested in the areas of genealogy, history, anthropology, or sociology may find this map useful.  The rules of Commandment #3 are used effectively in this map.  Clear, thorough labeling is present on this map.  An important subsection is labeled under the legend describing in detail the "Other" category listed in the legend.  The images of the contiguous states and non-contiguous states and territories have clear boundaries.  The states and territories are not labeled by name.   The map looks well-balanced.  The images are aligned to the page and each other.   Map space is utilized very well. The four corners of the page have separate maps.   Three corner maps depict non-contiguous states (Hawaii and Alaska) and a territory (Puerto Rico).   Each of these three separate maps have a scale bar that appear sized correctly and have logical scale units as does the main map's scale bar.  In the top right corner of the page there is a map that shows the data by state rather than county.  The legend is appropriately structured and works for both the ancestry by county map and the smaller inserted map of ancestry by state.  The title of this map appears in the center top portion of the map and is clearly visible and descriptive.  It may have been helpful to audience members not familiar with the United States to title the three corner maps (Hawaii, Alaska, and Puerto Rico).  The map source is listed but not an author.  This map appeals to me because it abides by the Cartographic Principle of "maximum information at minimum cost".  While displaying every county in the United States seems like it could be complex, this map appears simplistic.   The map layout appeared rightly sized as described in Tufteism #19.  I enjoyed viewing this map because it made me think about our country's rich history despite being relatively young in comparison to other countries in the world.  It was easy for me to imagine different immigrant groups', native americans', and slaves' journeys simply by looking at the colors on this map.

Poorly Designed

I chose the Capital Population Map as my example of a poorly designed map.  The purpose of this map appears to be to display the population of capital cities in the United States.  This map seems to defy Tufteism #2 (complex ideas communicated with clarity, precision, and efficiency).   Usually an audience in primary school could understand a map of capital populations but this map is not clearly designed and thus difficult to interpret the information displayed.  The author of this map did not effectively label the map (Commandment #3) or tell the truth about the data (Tufteism #5).   The capitals of Hawaii and Alaska are not shown on the map.  The dot symbology the author chose is not intuitive.   All dots are the same color.  Dots appear in different sizes on the map which seems to indicate the level of population but the legend provided is inadequately labeled/identified.  We do not know the units used to denote a capital's population size.  Further,  dot sizes prevent proper placement/identification of their respective capital.  There is a title at the top of the map layout but it is incorrect in that only capitals of the contiguous United States are displayed.  No scale is provided.   No source or author is listed.  It appears the map author's desire to present data with simplicity (minimalist approach) caused the purpose/explanation of the map to be sacrificed.  I did not enjoy viewing this map because it did not follow the cartographic design principle of "engaging the emotion to engage the mind."  I kept hoping to decipher the legend and understand the story the map author was trying to tell.

I found this module to be a useful exercise but time consuming.   Since I have no prior experience with GIS, this module forced me to take the time to properly evaluate maps and decipher their intent both visually and informationally.  I enjoyed this module because it made me realize how important it is to conceptualize your map before creating it.  I remember an acronym from my college ROTC days: PPP - Pxxx Poor Planning.  Planning your map is vital to its reception and usefulness.