Qualitative Map

Figure 1. The original Lab 1 qualitative map of Buffalo, New York describing the predominant race distribution across the city.

Figure 2. The revised Lab 4 qualitative map of Buffalo, New York describing the predominant race distribution across the city.

For the map revision, the visual hierarchy scheme (from Lecture 8) was applied to correct deficiencies in the original map layout. To shift focus away from certain map items, the title was limited to one line, the north arrow was made less prominent, and bold text was removed from the written scale and credits. Smaller text was also used for the title and credits, and the frame line weight was reduced. In addition, “boxes” around the legend and written scale were removed. To increase the prominence of specific map items, a larger map scale was applied, increasing the mapped area’s size and drawing more attention to the mapped area. Furthermore, a superior-contrasting color scheme was applied to the map. Finally, the legend, credits, north arrow, bar scale, and written scale were rearranged to fill “white space” and create a “balanced” map.

Non-hierarchical items were also modified during the map revision. First, the map units were converted to centimeters and kilometers; metric units yield an easily interpretable written scale (under the new map scale of 1:70,000). Second, the date and data source were added to the credits, and the legend was “left justified.”