Module 1: Well Designed and Poorly Designed Map Evaluations

For the first assignment for this Computer Cartography course, we were asked to choose one well designed map and one poorly designed map and evaluate both on the design, map elements, and overall delivery of the the map's intended topic. 

Well Designed Map Example: South Carolina Wildlife Management Area Map

The map above is an example of a well designed map. The map's topic is clearly defined by the title and is supported by the symbology and labels that depict the different game zones of the state. More specifically, each zone is a different color and numbered logically from 1 to 6. The legend includes each color shown on the map, the font is legible and the elements are ordered numerically. Each county's name is labeled and the county boundaries are visible, but not too distracting from the game zones. The scale is appropriate to show the entire state of South Carolina and the scale bar is in appropriate units (miles). The map's title is centered at the top of the page and is in bold font so that it is one of the first elements that the viewer sees. Overall, the map is simple and easy to interpret.

Poorly Designed Map Example: Pictorial Wildlife and Game Map of the United States

The map above, titled "Pictorial Wildlife and Game Map of the United States" is an example of a poorly designed map. The main objective was to show images of common wildlife found throughout the United States. However, the map is overcrowded and difficult to single out one animal species. The legend font and smaller individual species maps are too small to be legible. The symbology does not indicate any other information, other than what the animal looks like and a general location where they may be found. The smaller range maps give more specific ranges by showing a red shaded area where habitat may be found. However, the smaller range maps are placed off to the side and there seems to be no organization for type of species. In other words, this map tried to put too much information in one place, which resulted in an overwhelming map.