During the last several units we explored different types of maps and mapping criteria. In module 5 we took a deeper dive into the popular thematic map, a choropleth map. For the lab I was given a dataset with European population data as well as the wine consumption per liter for the same countries. Since there were two aspects of the data that needed to be compared, this map assignment required multiple types of data display.
The choropleth aspect of the map was the easiest, and most familiar to me at this point in the certificate course. I chose a natural looking color scheme with colors that went from pale yellow green to dark forest green. I felt this was a great way to make densely populated areas stand out while also lightening up areas that were sparsely populated. Since this is a choropleth map, typically raw population data would need to be normalized first to account for the difference in land size. However, by utilizing the pre-calculated population density class, there was no longer a need to further normalize the data, and that field could be mapped and colored through symbology without further calculations.
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| Choropleth map with graduated symbols for wine consumption. |
For the wine consumption we chose between proportional and graduated symbols. Though I preferred the information that can be gleaned from the map with proportional symbols, I ended up using graduated symbols since they allowed each country to be read as an individual item, rather than requiring that they be compared to other countries in order to get information. I toyed with standard deviation vs natural breaks for classification. The standard deviation is typically one that I am partial to for its mathematic origin, however in this case using standard deviation to classify the data resulted in a large emphasis of the outliers, and made it difficult to assess the average wine consumption between countries. Though natural breaks with five classes made the outliers no longer stand out, it did make it easier to read the map and view the average amount of wine across countries. I had some difficulty with my symbols and label positioning, though I believe I found where to change the label placement in properties, when I did attempt to change how the labels fit they didn't follow the rules I had made in settings. The way to overcome this would have been to make all labels annotations, and customize them to fit within countries and avoid symbols as needed. Unfortunately, I have limited use of my hands and right now fitting each annotation was beyond me.
During this lab I attempted to stick with natural color schemes for the choropleth and the sea, as well as the wine bottle symbology. I feel that the natural tones are most clear and personally easy to read and pleasing to look at. With more time and skill in graphic design I would have wanted to create much more interesting wine bottle symbols, as it was I imported these as image files from a clipart package.
