Mapping Florida: A Cartographic Typography Lab


Mapping Florida: A Cartographic Typography Lab

For this lab assignment, we were tasked with creating a detailed and visually effective map of the state of Florida. The primary goal was to practice the application of proper typography techniques to a geographic dataset using ArcGIS Pro. This exercise emphasized the importance of font choice, size, weight, color, and label placement when mapping various types of features including points, lines, and areas.

Objective

The main objective of this lab was to explore typographic principles in cartography. Specifically, we were asked to:

  • Accurately label point, line, and polygon features.

  • Apply different typographic styles based on feature type.

  • Use annotation for precise control over text placement.

  • Include all essential map elements: title, legend, scale bar, orientation, cartographer info, and data sources.

Final Map


Explanation of My Map

My map of Florida includes the required features such as major cities, rivers, and wetlands. Each feature type was labeled according to best typographic practices:

  • Major cities (point features) were labeled using sans-serif fonts with differences in size and weight to distinguish county seats from other populated places.

  • Rivers (line features) were labeled in italic serif fonts and placed with curved offsets to simulate flow and improve legibility.

  • Swamps and wetlands (area features) were labeled using annotation, allowing for better placement and visual clarity.

Overview of the Mapping Process

To create this map, I used ArcGIS Pro and the provided dataset from the Florida geodatabase. The general workflow was as follows:

  1. Loaded data layers including MajorCities, FloridaRivers, and FloridaLakesSwamps.

  2. Symbolized point features by feature type (County Seat vs Populated Place) and created label classes to match.

  3. Customized river labels using the “RName” field and applied italic, turquoise-colored text.

  4. Converted area feature labels (like Okefenokee Swamp) to annotation for manual positioning and formatting.

Customizations I Made:

1     I selected only required features listed in the lab instructions from the data by creating new layers from selected objects in the attribute table to ensure that the map was not cluttered and easier to read.

I added symbology to the Selected cities to reflect their status as County seat.  I changed the river labeling to contour the river to make it more appealing to the end viewer. 

In Conclusion:

This lab gave me a greater appreciation for the design considerations that go into making a professional map. It’s not just about showing where things are—it's about making that information clear, readable, and visually appealing. Typography plays a critical role in achieving that.



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