Intro to GIS - M2 - Cartography

 

Map showing Escambia County, Florida with key points including UWF's main campus location, noteworthy cities, interstate highways, and major rivers. The inset map shows an overview of Florida, its counties, and Escambia County's location.

Week 2's assignments were a lot of fun!

In our reading assignments, including textbook chapters 1 and 10, we learned much information about GIS and Cartography.  Noteworthy to me was the history of cartography and how it has evolved over the years. It was also interesting to learn what GIS truly is, and that it can't be defined by one specific description. There are many facets to GIS, and the answer to "what is GIS" will vary depending on who is answering and what role they play in the industry.

In this week's reading assignment, we also learned a good bit of fundamentals in cartography, the do's and don'ts if you will. We learned about many map types and elements, and when and how they are used. 

I had A LOT of fun completing this week's lab assignment!  We were tasked with creating a map of the location of UWF's main campus that is functional, easy to read, and aesthetically pleasing.  Noteworthy cartographic tasks we learned are working with multiple layers and map frames in ArcGIS Pro, analyzing metadata, and ensuring the data used are accurate and high quality.

In creating the above map titled University of West Florida Main Campus, I worked step by step to add essential map elements, including title, scale bar, legend, border, date, data source, and cartographer's name. We were encouraged to "own your map," meaning adding your own artistic flair, and I had a blast with this. 

I've spent a good bit of time with graphic design, web design, and marketing over the years, and I was able to use those skills to create a map that I believe accomplishes its purpose while aesthetically maintaining the UWF branding. I chose colors based on the information I found on UWF's Brand Portal (https://uwf.edu/brand/color/), and I even worked in Photoshop a bit to create a gradient similar to the UWF logo.

I can't wait to dive deeper into cartography!