Lab 1

In Module 1 we had to do the following:

• Find an example of a well designed map
• Explain why it is a well designed map using 2-3 mapping principles
• Find an example of a poorly designed map
• Explain why it is a poorly designed map using 2-3 mapping priniples

The following is what I found:

1.    Example of a well-designed map.

2.    One paragraph critique of your well-designed map—critique must be supported with 2-3 map design principles.

This map uses a very well thought out color scheme, the colors are well spaced apart before they are used again.  It makes it very easy to distinguish the borders between the countries.  The labeling of the countries is a very readable font and the labels are in appropriate places as to not interfere with other countries.  The message is conveyed without the need for a title or a legend.  It is obviously a map of the continents when they were formed in Pangaea using current country labels.  I believe that you could show this map to anyone who has a basic knowledge of the continents of the Earth and even if they couldn’t read English they would be able to figure out what the message of the map is. 

3.    Example of a poorly-designed map. 

    

4.    One paragraph critique of your poorly-designed map—critique must be supported with 2-3 map design principles.

There are many different problems with this map.  The first noticeable problem is with the legend.  The legend uses different sized circles to represent the population density of certain cities.  However, the author forgot to include the units when designing the legend so the reader has no clue what the actual numbers represent.  Secondly, the text used to label the cities is a good font because it is easy to read, nevertheless, the text should have been placed within the city instead of scattered randomly around the circles.  This shows poor map planning.  Also the text sometimes runs into the border of the circles which makes some of the text difficult to read.  Thirdly one of the biggest problems (pun intended) is the circles are too large because they cover too much of the actual map which makes the map very difficult to find certain cities.  Finally, where did the data come from?  There is no source notated so therefore, the reader has no clue what the validity of the data is.