Mapping Tips and Tricks ArcGIS 9'2

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Mapping Tips and Tricks ArcGIS 9.2
How to make a map that doesnt look like you did
it in ArcView 2.1
K. Christiansen - GIS Analyst USDA Forest
Service Corvallis, OR
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So you wanna make a map, eh?

• Making maps is an integral and fun part of doing
  GIS.

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• Creating aesthetically pleasing maps that also
  convey the correct message is one of the
• supreme challenges.

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The goal of this presentation is to share a few
tricks and tips that may help you make a better
map.
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Example Map Intrinsic Potential for Chinook
Salmon
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What I will try to cover
Coastal Vignettes Symbol Levels Text Formatting

• Basic Graphics Principles
• Hillshading
• Transparency

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1
4
6
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3
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Graphics Primer CRAP

• Contrast
• Repetition
• Alignment
• Proximity
• Destination

After Williams 1994
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Graphics Primer CRAP

• Contrast
• Repetition
• Alignment
• Proximity
• Destination

Useful for organizing information. Make them very
different. Its also a good way to add some
visual pop.
Line weights Colors Fonts Shapes Sizes
After Williams 1994
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Graphics Primer CRAP

• Contrast
• Repetition
• Alignment
• Proximity
• Destination

Being consistent with the elements youve chosen
creates a visual unity and harmony to the map
Line weights Colors Fonts Shapes Sizes
After Williams 1994
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Graphics Primer CRAP

• Contrast
• Repetition
• Alignment
• Proximity
• Destination

Random or unstructured placement on the page
breaks down the effectiveness. Be mindful of how
elements are arranged with regard to individual
pieces and the page as a whole.
After Williams 1994
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Graphics Primer CRAP

• Contrast
• Repetition
• Alignment
• Proximity
• Destination

Elements that are related to each other should be
placed near each other.
After Williams 1994
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Graphics Primer CRAP

• Contrast
• Repetition
• Alignment
• Proximity
• Destination

Consider the final format the map will be in the
beginning. A map or graphic will have different
properties depending on whether its for the wall
or going into a PowerPoint presentation.
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Wow! Neato!, I knowit gets better though..
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Hillshading

• From ESRI
• Shadows drawn on a map to simulate the effect of
  the sun's rays over the varied terrain of the
  land.
• The hypothetical illumination of a surface
  according to a specified azimuth and altitude for
  the sun. Hillshading creates a three-dimensional
  effect that provides a sense of visual relief for
  cartography, and a relative measure of incident
  light for analysis.

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Swiss Hillshading
Emphasizes the major geographic features,
minimizes the minor features, smoothes irregularit
ies on the slopes, but maintains the rugged
characteristics of ridge tops and
canyon bottomsYou can then simulate an aerial
perspective that makes the higher elevations
lighter and the lower elevations darker.
Barnes, D. 2002. Using ArcGIS to
Enhance Topographic Presentation,
Cartographic Perspectives 42 5-11.
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Standard HIllshade
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Swiss Style Hillshade
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Swiss Style Hillshade
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Cool.but maybe it obscures the message just a
bit.
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Transparency
By varying background colors, the DEM color ramp,
and a hillshade, cool effects can be created. In
this case a colorful, yet subtle representation
of the topography. Its like magic, only easier
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Base Color
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Base Color DEM(75)
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Base Color DEM(75) Illumination Hillshade(80
)
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Base Color DEM(75) Illumination Hillshade(80
)
Illumination Hillshade Hillshade DEM/5
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(No Transcript)
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CoastalVignettes
This is the cartographic representation of
where land meets water.
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2 general methods

• Multiple ring buffer tool

• Euclidean distance tool

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• Multiple Ring Buffer Tool

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Using Graduated Colors, ramp the values, white to
light blue
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Symbol Levels

• Layer Properties -gt Symbology -gt Advanced -gt
  Symbol Levels

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With symbol levels off
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With symbol levels on
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Drawing speeds are slow. Turn it off until its
needed.
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Direct Text Formatting
Type within the text box
Type as it is seen
ltBOLgtIntrinsic potentiallt/BOLgt for each stream
reach was calculated for chinook salmon from
attributes of ltITAgtmean annual stream flow
ltbolgt(If)lt/bolgt, valley constraint
ltbolgt(Ic)lt/bolgt, and channel gradient
ltbolgt(Ig)lt/bolgtlt/ITAgt. These attributes were
produced in conjunction with the digital stream
network from 10-m digital elevation models
(DEMs). The stream network was output in an
ArcView shape file format and then imported into
ArcInfo (ESRI version 9.1) for all subsequent
processing. Stream attribute values were
converted to index curves. Consistent with the
most widely applied approach for modeling habitat
suitability (United States Fish and Wildlife
Service 1981 Morrison et al. 1998), intrinsic
potential for each stream reach is expressed as
the geometric mean of values from the
species-specific index curves.
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Format options
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Elements covered
Coastal Vignettes Symbol Levels Text Formatting

• Basic Graphics Principles
• Hillshading
• Transparency

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Essential resources

• The non-designers design book. 1994. Robin
  Williams
• Designing better maps. 2007. Cynthia Brewer

• mappingcenter.esri.com
• kuler.adobe.com
• www.cartotalk.com/

http//www.library.yale.edu/mapcoll/files/docs/14_
Classic_Cartography_in_ArcMap.pdf
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Its like magic, but easier!