- This is a route map that shows the commute routes of four public utility jeepney routes that significant to the campus of the University of the Philippines in Diliman, Quezon City. Two of them (UP Ikot and UP Toki) go around the campus grounds only. While the other two, UP-Philcoa and UP-Katipunan, are routes that go in and outside the campus premises. However, there two other jeepney routes that are not included in the map - the UP-SM North route, and the UP-Pantranco, both of which are routes that go far beyond the campus' vicinity but follow the same route the UP-Philcoa route takes inside the campus.
Completeness
Some map elements are missing, such as a legend, map title and a lot more. Without an explanation beneath, it would not be easy to understand unless the map reader is a part of the UP community.
Aesthetics
I would have to say that the color choice is apt for the users. It looks vibrant and uses distinct colors to differentiate elements that have varying meanings. For example
Understandability
Some map elements are missing, such as a legend, map title and a lot more. Without an explanation beneath, it would not be easy to understand unless the map reader is a part of the UP community.
Prism Map from Google Earth
Source:
http://peltiertech.com/WordPress/virtual-globes/
Cartogram of Threatened and Endagered Species per Country
Flow Map of Trucks in the U.S.
- Choropleth maps are common nowadays, an example of which is a thematic map showing the infant mortality rate in African countries which this one is based on.
With the recent innovations in high-tech map designing, Google Earth comes up with "Prism Maps". It shows the statistics of a bar chart like a choropleth map, but unlike those usual thematic maps, Prism maps add a little excitement to information.
However, with the added value of a more appealing map, Prism maps risk the convenience when it comes to actually understanding the information. First, since it is a virtual globe, shapes get distorted, the farther from the center of the globe, or the virtual Nadir, the more distorted details become. Aside from this, since information is transformed into 3d objects, the possibility of graphic problems, such as one country covering another, may arise.
My recommendation for Google Earth's Prism maps is to have an option where clear data is readily accessible. Since it is a virtual map, it is advisable if they create a mechanism which allows the viewer to view data by pointing the mouse at the country and it instantly shows the numbers, or a cascaded view where a chart is viewable beside the prism map, for clarity.
Source:
http://peltiertech.com/WordPress/virtual-globes/
Cartogram of Threatened and Endagered Species per Country
- The strength of a Cartograms, maps where regions are not drawn to an areal scale but to the scale of data (i.e. population), is that comparative analysis is easy to do.
In this cartogram, data on threatened and endangered species are shown. The color combination, monochromatic and separated into 5 color sets, is appropriate for the simple theme of the map. The distortion is necessary for the accuracy of the information, and despite this, balance is achieved in the map design.
Source:
http://amphibiaweb.org/amphibian/cartograms/Flow Map of Trucks in the U.S.
- Flow maps are usually expressed with arrows, but with this map, the density, or rate of movement of trucks are symbolized by the thickness of lines.
The data expressed in this map is easily seen because the actual flow in terms of direction and intensity is easily identifiable.
The map design is very commendable because of the balanced layout. The insets are placed without compromising any important information. The good thing to take note about the insets is that although there is actually zero truck flow in those areas (Hawaii and Alaska) from Texas, these two states were still shown. This makes the map complete, showing that the information is zero, not that there is no information at all. The color combination is easy to understand and very appropriate. As for the other elements, these were organized around the image, with the clear distinction in the map source, map title and legend.
Source:
http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/texas/combtrk_tx_1998.jpgDot Distribution Map of the US Population
- Dot distribution maps show information over a wide area incorporating dots that are proportional to the size of the observed data, in this case, population data in the United States.
The accuracy of the map is impressive. However, there could have been a better color combination for the map design. The contrast between the dot and the base map is too high - black and white. Thus, also considering the dark blue background, the dot map looks like a satellite image at night. This is misleading of the reader's first impression of the image. Also, the text style - the font, size and color are not the best fit for the dot map. The font was not neat. The legend was also not given emphasis. In terms of balance, the main focus is not at the visual center nor the geometric center. This could have been attained if the land mass was moved a little higher, with more detail placed below. But still, the biggest problem with this dot map remains with the color combination.
Transport Map of Paris
- The challenge of using transportation route maps is that it has to be really simple and easy to understand because most of its map readers are common people, and in everyday life, unlike maps in books, maps used for navigation and maps that serve very specific reasons and show very specific data.
- Apparently, the railway transport in Paris, France is very sophisticated. Therefore, the mapmaker of the transport map needs to create a map that would conveniently guide the city's 23 millions visitors every year.
- As seen in the map, there are ways to make a complex transport system look simple through a map. Firstly, the shape of the routes were simplified so as to show a regularity in all routes, and to clearly see the different stations. Another technique used is by color-coding the different routes.
Source:
http://www.realadventures.com/listings/1015_Paris-Public-Transportation-Map
Campus Map of DLSU
Campus Map of DLSU
- This is a map of a university campus showing the different buildings inside the university. As I checked with satellite images, this map is not very accurate.
- When it comes to the color choice, the choice of having a few colors may be wise, however, with the minimal variation in the gradient, the meaning can be confusing. In this example, it would be better if all buildings were of the exact same color. Instead of having that, there were places which aren't building that had colors darker than the other buildings.
- Aside from this, there are also blank spaces. This does not only waste space in the map, but also present a lack of information. The map reader cannot simply assume that such areas are field, or open area, or whatever.
Countries of Origin of Products in a Wal-Mart
- This map shows the information on which countries are origins of products in Wal-Mart (a famous supermarket in the U.S.)
- The information is expressed through a Cartogram wherein the countries with large number in terms of products have sizes that are proportionally as large. Furthermore, the countries are not only represented by the size of the number of products coming from which, but are also colored by the countries' flags.
- Considering basic aesthetic principles in Cartography, this map is not very problematic. It in fact sows clearly the data its creator wants to present. When it comes to balance and positions of the map elements, this map has achieved well in both aspects.
Map of Sunny Beach, Bulgaria
- This map is intended to serve as a helpful guide for the tourists of Sunny Beach in Bulgaria. It shows important information that tourists would fin useful. The data is well presented, and also very artistic (so to entice and make it interesting for the map readers). However, the problem with the general layout is that it is not very flexible since it is a long horizontal stretch. However, given the nature of the landscape of the place, such a layout is necessary.
Source: http://bulgaria-map.info/maps/Sunny_Beach_Map.jpg
Political Map of Sudan
- This map wishes to convey the separation of the two regions of Sudan (Southern and Northern) amidst its political divide.
- The map sums up and clearly identifies these two regions, and with the help of the inset and the scale, the readers could easily comprehend the context of the map's information.
For a basis on map critique, refer to Borden Dent's "Map Design", click here.
