For this week's lab, we created a map of Florida's major features: cities, rivers, and natural features. The lab especially focused on labeling point features and annotating the labels so they become stored in a feature class. This is useful for being able to edit each label so it's typeface, size, color, and location are completely customizable to the mapmakers discretion. Below is a description of how I customized my map after learning and reviewing tools and skills in the lab's instructions.
One customization that I made to
my map was the symbol and label for the capital city. Once I added the Capital
data to the map, I turned on the label so Tallahassee would appear on the map.
I chose the Text Symbol Style “Population Place (Capital)” and changed the size
to 8 pt. Then, I opened the symbology tab for the Capital layer and under
Gallery, changed the symbol to “Star 1” and color to Citron Yellow.
The second customization I made
was the symbology of the land feature layers i.e., swamp/marsh, counties, and
rivers. I wanted to try using the gallery suggested colors for the land and
swamp/marsh areas. I chose the “Land” gallery option for the counties layer.
Then, I chose the “Swamp” option for swamp/march areas. At first, it was
difficult to see the Everglades label for the swamp symbology without making
any changes. I also did not like how the blue color looked for the swamp
symbols with the white for the background color – which is the symbols default.
Therefore, in the properties tab, I changed the colors to shades of green so
that the swamp design, everglades label, and rivers layer were all visible and
the look was more aesthetically pleasing.
The final customizations that I
made were changing the colors and typeface of some of the labels. I reviewed
page 476 of Cartography by Field about type color and how different
colors and text effects appear on different backgrounds. I changed the colors
of the text labels to create a contrast between the background and the text,
making it more legible. For example, I changed the everglades text to a
gray-white color to contrast with the darker green of the background. I also
changed the river labels from the original turquoise dust color in our lab
instructions to a darker blue so it would contrast better with the light-yellow
county layer in the background.
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