I'm really proud of you all!

Hi Class:

Before we constructively critique your maps today, I just want to say one thing: I'm really proud of how much work and time many of you put into your maps. You have come a long way. Some of these are absolutely magnificent for first time endeavors in map making. I am going to see if we can't get some of these posted on a bulletin board somewhere when you are done. I'll talk to the Department Coordinator. At any rate, though all of these could use a little tweaking -- as maps are never perfect -- you should be proud of yourselves for producing such great first drafts! Seriously, you are blowing the GIS & Cart class at Macalester out of the water! (My wife was grading their first reference map assignment yesterday -- a map of states in the EU -- as your maps trickled in. You have done the UofM proud!)

But let us not get complacent. There are always new tricks to learn with these programs. And after this Brazil map is finished, we are going to proceed to the next phase of mapmaking -- finding our own data, importing it, and making a map from scratch. Still, you have a great start on knowing how to lay out, design, and establish a visual hierarchy with the data you do find; which means you will be able to make a great map once you find your data!

I'm rambling. Back to looking at your Brazil maps. See you all in class shortly. Thanks again for putting so much thinking and lab time into these projects.

Best,

Ian

Assignments & Class Update

Dear Class:

As the syllabus notes, the scheduled due dates and lecture materials on the calendar are merely tentative. I thought I would take a moment right now to highlight some minor changes to the schedule.

Lab Assignments

First of all, there will only be four "graded" assignments in lab. You have finished one – Learning FreeHand. The second assignment you are currently completing – the Brazil Reference Map. It is due on March 5^th. You will also have a final project which will be worth 15% of your grade.

Thinking About What You Would Like to Map

Beginning on March 5^th and continuing through March 26^th, you will be searching for and collecting data to make your thematic maps throughout the rest of the semester. You will be introduced to several methods of importing this information during lab beginning on March 5^th. Right now you should begin thinking about what you would like to map thematically. Perhaps there is a term paper that you would like to spruce up with several maps that you have created yourself. Perhaps you are affiliated with a group that could use a nice map on their website or for a poster. Or maybe you are just interested in a random topic – political, economic, or goofy – that you would like to make several maps of. Your two thematic maps (assignments 3 and 4) may be of the same geographic area, but they must each map different types of data.

Class Assignment Due Tuesday, March 4^th

Please take some time to think about what you would like to map thematically. I would like a short explanation of what you want to map and whether you have found the data yet one week from today (on March 4^th).

Thursday, February 28, In Class Assignment

After your lab on February 27^th, you will email me a JPEG of your Brazil map (ioas@UMN). We will constructively critique your maps on Thursday and try to give one another good ideas on what they might do to make their maps more effective.

 

If you have any questions regarding due dates or what is expected of you, please email me or, for lab assignments, Ben. Thank you. I hope you are having a great weekend!

 

Best,

 

Ian

FreeHand Question: Rescaling Everything on the Map

Question

Hi Ian, I heard Ben in lab talking about a way to increase the size of a map and have all the layers increase with the same percentage but I didn't hear how to do that. I'm at the point I want to increase the size of my map but I don't know how to do it. How is it done?

 

Answer
No problem. The best way to do it is to save your file with a different name, just in case my advice screws everything up.

Then unlock every layer. Go to "Edit" and choose "Select All." Once everything has been selected hit Cntrl-G (or select Group). It will look like everything is on one layer, because it is grouped, but when you ungroup it everything will go back to the original layer.

Now that everything is grouped together you can do two things. You can choose the Scale Tool from the toolbar (or WINDOW) and resize it. Or more simply: with everything grouped together, double-click on the grouped object. Some weird handles appear around the edges of the object. If you hold down the shift key and move your cursor over a corner, click and resize the window, it will resize in proportion (x and y height will look the same dimension as the original, though you will make it bigger or smaller). You can also move it around the page at this point.

Graphic Design Texts

Hi Class,

I posted some base map files that you can use with FreeHand or Illustrator for the rest of your lives. You can download it on Moodle via the LINKS page.

There is a little of everything on there -- continents, regions, countries, US states, and major cities. These files are absolutely stellar for making maps for publications and reports and thematically as they are generalized for print already. Your South America/Brazil map shape file came from these. So please download them before the semester ends so you have them in the future!

Now, more seriously... for those of you that are interested in reading more about Graphic Design/Layout for map design, I am posting PDFs of two of my favorite books on the topic on Moodle. These books are priceless! Seriously, read them if you want to gain insight on everything from text placement, types, map balance, weight, and everything!

Regardless if you want to read or not, you should definitely look at the graphics in this book and the captions to get some good ideas on design principles.

Alright... cool! Have a great weeken and we will see you on Tuesday!