Final Project - GIS 3015

The final task for GIS 3015 was to gather data for 2013 college placement exams (a choice of either ACT or SAT) and present it on a map. The map is intended to be an infographic for a fictional newspaper article in The Washington Post. There were two main objectives with this map. First, the map must be visually appealing, use the best possible thematic data representation, and adhere to basic cartographic design principles. Second, the data presented in the map must be done in the best possible way, with the choice being ours as to what (if any) data classification method to use or which thematic map style(s) to display.

Map infographic depicting 2013 ACT Data.

Technical Details

Graduated picture symbols (representing a mortarboard) were used to depict the composite ACT scores, and a choropleth map was used to represent the percentage of students who took the exam. Since the data focus is mainly on the composite ACT scores, those took first priority (and thus the is the first item visible on the map). The graduated symbols were range graded using manual breaks divided into seven classes – I wanted to preserve the idea of the whole number composite scores, since most people think of the scores in that way. The choropleth data was divided into five separate classes using the quartile method. The percentage dataset was evenly distributed (more or less), with the only ‘outlier’ being the eight states that have mandated 100% participation for high school students. Information on the 2013 ACT was added to an excel table which was later joined to the state shapefile – thus allowing me to use the same shapefile in two different ways on my map.

Since the map is intended to be an infographic, I wanted to catch the reader’s eye and give them something to think about in the few seconds that I have their attention. To do this I steered well clear of any tables on the map – my own eyes glaze over when I see that, and it would require a bit more effort on the reader’s part to make sense of my map (not to impugn the good readers of The Washington Post!). To create visual interest I used a picture symbol for the ACT score data, changed the map neatline to an oval, and arranged my map items accordingly. It is hoped that the deviation from a non-square map might be visually appealing. To further enhance the prominence of the choropleth map (as opposed to the surrounding map text) I used a drop shadow on the contiguous U.S. outline, and also for Alaska and Hawaii.

Final Thoughts on the Class

I found the class to be very beneficial overall. One of the (many) reasons that I had entered into this GIS Certificate program was to learn how to create better maps – what better way to do that than to take on the principals of map design? I found it a relief to learn that I was at least on the right track with my pre-GIS Certificate program maps… and to learn ways to improve on them. It was fun (even in the depths of CorelDraw hell) to try my hand at all those crazy thematic maps – and to pick up some very useful graphic arts knowledge along the way. I know that any maps I will make in the future will be 100% better for having taken this course.