Map Critique

Hello!

In this lab we were required to pick out two map examples, one of a well designed map and one of a poorly designed map. We were to give a critique to both maps with scholarly insight and assessment. Here are my map choices and my assessments.

Well-designed: 

Assessment: I like this map because it makes a hard concept easy to understand. A forecaster could say, “Expect AQI levels of 150 for today”, but without a visual guide to help the general public understand what those levels mean it would be hard for someone without knowledge in that area to comprehend the information broadcasted. A person with no previous knowledge could see the color levels and easily deduce that the red days are worse than the green days, considering this format is used in many other areas, like weather forecasting.

This map utilizes Commandment 1: Map Substantial Information, Commandment 3: Effectively Label Maps, and Commandment 4: Minimize Map Crap. 1: The information provided was not overwhelmingly scientific and is easy for someone with a high school education to read and understand. Also, there is not a lot of information crammed into the map to explain its purpose. 4: The data is kept in a simplistic, yet comprehensible format. There is not an overwhelming amount of side data included. 3: The symbols and fonts used were effective in understanding the map. The data is clear and concise and does not stray away in the design used to portray it.

This map is aesthetic to me because it is set on a neutral background, the colors of the bars stand out against the background, and the data location is easy to compare back and forth between the scales.

Poorly Designed:

Assessment:This map was probably drawn by a local (non-welcome center guide) and is hopefully not used as a directional guide. It lacks a sense of direction, scale, and data.  This map might make sense to another local, but it definitely does not meet the aim of properly directing a tourist in the right direction.

It violates Commandment 6: Evaluate your map. This map was hastily drawn, or lazily, and needs an aesthetic makeover. It violates Commandment 1: Map Substantial Information. No important information is being presented on this map. The hotel’s distance and location is unknowable. And it violates Commandment 2: The proportions are exaggerated, making the distance and locations inaccurate.

This map needs a new layout, a legend, a scale, titles, and additional information about the hotels in the area. It should be redone with an actual image of the street view of Barcelona, have the hotels appropriately highlighted with approximate distance from the start location listed in a legend, and perhaps include how many stars the hotel has received on reviews as side data.