Julieta's GIS Blog

This last module dealt with proportional bivariate mapping methods. Below is a proportional map reflecting negative and positive values for the increase and decrease in the number of jobs across the U.S. We had to convert the negative values into positive values for this purpose, which allowed to symbolize is proportional to the positive values for comparison. I selected a light bright blue hue to represent the loss of jobs and a warmer purple hue to represent jobs gained. For this particular symbology need, the challenge was not so much the quantity of the values I wanted to communicate. The challenge was finding a balance and gain a better understanding of how to use color themes for that purpose. Initially, I had considered using red and blue (as in hot and cold), but it felt too political and not related to the subject matter. The main exercise for this module demanded that we create a bivariate map displaying the relationship between obesity and physical inactivity perc

Now that we've developed a basic comprehension of color themes, labeling, and typography. This week we dived into creating an infographic using data based on the County Health Rankings data from 2018. This is my very first attempt at an infographic, I don’t think it turned out very well. But I learned a lot overall on how to think more artistically, which is not common. I thought about color themes, placement of data, and amount of information to include and in what format (chart, text, map?). It gave me a lot of ideas on how to tackle the next infographic. Another thing I considered was visual balance by seeing how things looked like when aligned with certain ways and combinations. Given more time and tools on this assignment, I would take advantage of software such as Photoshop to include a fun background that compliments the information supplied via ArcGIS Pro.

This week's module dealt with Choropleth mapping and color theory. Not being an artist, this was somewhat intense and thought-provoking. Our lab was great in walking you through the process of selecting the right color theme for a map. First, we covered some exercises in color ramp progressions. Below is an example displaying three varying gradients using the same base dark green hue. Original intervals: 51, 26, 31. In the Adjusted Progression, I reduced the previous intervals by -10 and added the values to each new set of RGB values. This appeared to make the hues above a shade darker. The adjusted progression is noticeably a shade darker in hue than both linear progression and ColorBrewer. ColorBrewer is also slightly more green, you can notice this change on the lightest color. I’m unsure what the formula used to produce those hues is, but they exhibit a bit more saturation within the hue. For the main lab exercise, we had to create a map displaying the change in the cou

In this week's module, we covered various terrain visualization techniques, including contour lines, hillshade manipulation, and the use of digital elevation models (DEM) on a 2-dimensional surface. The main exercise required to overlay a land cover layer of Yellowstone over an elevation raster layer. Seen below is my final result. On the left is land cover, with some transparency, over a traditional hillshade effect. I selected a traditional effect because it best represented land cover features. On the right is the elevation with a multispectral hillshade effect.  I went through a few color ramps to test which best complemented this DEM's physical features. I also went ahead and grouped many of the original land cover features into Pine Trees, Douglas Firs, etc. in order to generalize the different types of tree types. As for the map layout, at first I only had a single map frame and tested ways to represent elevation alongside land cover since I would otherwise have to mak

Our second module dealt with coordinate systems, their development throughout history, and why they matter. I really enjoyed reading through this module's discussion since our discussion leaders selected unique coordinate systems to analyze. Antarctica's preferred coordinate system was interesting to consider since it's such a unique location. We are used to seeing maps in Mercator projection, which distorts all landforms to form a flat frame. It great learning more about how that projection works. Canada in the Lambert Conformal Conic projection For the lab, we went through a series of different minor exercises to view and apply various coordinate systems and projections in ArcPro in order to grasp a better understanding of each distortion and best uses. Lastly, the main exercise had us apply a ‘graticule’ in geographic coordinates and a measured grid in projected coordinates for a state in the U.S. I selected the state of Colorado as it’s one of my favorite st

This first module served as a great refresher for key concepts in map design and typography. Admittedly, in day to day practice, I use ArcMap 99% of the time. Using ArcPro instead for this course has definitely been a welcome crash course on any and all updates to many familiar tools and features. The lab required to go through the process of compiling a simple map of Travis County, Texas, without labels for now, and develop a comprehensive understanding of what goes behind our own reasoning for certain design choices. In retrospect, I think there's a better way to symbolize Golf Course areas as they're not very prominent in the final map below. I would also modify the major roads symbology to be slightly thinner, and provide a faded drop shadow effect to the county shape so it does no feel flat.