Module 4: Typography

The map shown below of the middle section of the Florida Keys was created for the Typography lab for the University of West Florida on-line GIS certification program class, Cartographic Skills (GIS 3015/L).

The map was not created using ArcGIS but rather was created in Adobe Illustrator. Students were given the map outline and had to use their understanding of typography rules for map-makers to locate and label various features in this area of the keys. I can honestly say that doing so proved tremendously frustrating as there was a lot about the Adobe program that was very foreign to me and not easily understood. For example, I wanted to color in the state park and country club land areas in green, but was at a loss how to easily fill an area. The closest I came was using a paint-like feature which took forever, created multiple objects, and had zero precision. I'm sure there's a better way to do it, but the Adobe help to say the least is least helpful. I now strongly regret not downloading a trial of this version before starting the course.

I do feel like I learned quite a bit about using the program. The zoom feature was very useful in placing labels and I did arch a few of them to get them to fit in to tight places. I only used two types for the elements, one serifed and one sans serif. There were elements and rules followed for this map that I did not pay attention to previously and hope to keep in mind for the next labs.