This week was the final project for Cartographic Skills. I was given an assignment designed to showcase my newly learned skills as if I had just been hired by U.S. Department of Education to create a map for The Washington Post to use in an article on high school seniors and college entrance scores. The primary goal of the project was to use the methods and techniques that I have learned in the course to create a single map displaying two related sets of data: 2013 mean SAT scores by state and 2013 SAT participation rates by state. I was not given any step by step instructions for this lab; I was only provided with a link to the College Board from which I downloaded my data. The rest was up to me!
To create this map, I used both ArcGIS (to organize my data) and CorelDraw (to complete my design). I decided to use a chloropleth map to depict the mean SAT participation rates by state. I wanted to do this so that I could overlay the mean SAT scores as graduated symbols on top of this map to display the two sets of data clearly. I used Natural Breaks as the classification method because I felt that the class limits for this method did the best job representing the data in a way that coincides with the goal of the assignment. I decided to go with a blue color scheme for the participation rates because it shows contrast very clearly and the color blue is often associated with higher education in American culture. I used graduated solid black circles for the mean SAT scores for a few reasons. For one, I did not want to overcrowd the map with too much variability in color or small detailed symbols since it is to be used in a news article and I can't be certain how small or large the map would be represented. Another reason for choosing the color black is that I wanted the symbols to really stand out so that one set of data would not overpower the other; the color black is very bold and stands out nicely against the variable shades of blue. I used 5 color classes and 5 graduated symbol classes because I felt that 5 class divisions is the perfect amount to display the data in a way that shows variability amongst the states, without overpopulating the map with data that is hard to differentiate. On my map I included a short paragraph about how the data on the map was calculated so that viewers can have a better understanding of the data being represented. I used an inset map to display the New England area because in this area, states are very small and it was hard to fit the symbols in there without it looking confusing. Although I used a different projection for the separate portions of this map - the contiguous United States, Alaska, and Hawaii - I was sure to include notes that Hawaii and Alaska were not to scale with the scale bar on the map so that viewers could not be misled. This is what is traditionally done on most American maps of the United States. In my opinion and for the purposes of this map in particular, it makes sense to display the states this way because the majority of the American population is used to seeing maps displayed in this fashion and that is the audience that will be viewing my map. In addition, I did not want to distract from primary message of the map by trying to make everything to scale. Finally, I decided to use a grey background so that my data would stand out clearly and be aesthetically pleasing.
Creating this map was a challenge, as I had to pull from all of my skills that I learned this semester and really think hard about every decision going into creating the final project. Despite the challenge, I had fun with it. Being able to work on an independent project from start to finish was very satisfying and I am proud of the final result. Also, it is really interesting to see how my fellow classmates decided to depict the same or similar data as me. I look forward to continuing my education in map making for my GIS certificate! This has been a really cool class and looking back, I am proud of how far I have come as a cartographer.
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