12 replies to this topic

[eli]

Hi all,

This map will be displayed on signs (with some photos and explanatory text and logos) at the entrances to the forest, I think at roadside stops where the general public will be able to view it. I've been working with the file in Illustrator, where I've made a couple different series. As it's going to be rather public, I'd love to have your feedback.

I also have two specific questions:

• Is there a way to easily convert regular type to type on a path? I thought I knew the answer to this question...
• I would love to make my legend a little bit more interesting than plain ol' boxes. Any suggestions?

Thanks in advance for your wonderful criticism!

It won't let me add the attachment (What's up with that?), so I've put it on yudu: http://www.yudu.com/...183/EC-CCF-sign with the password as cartotalk. Yudu seems to change the colours - my greens are more muted than they appear...

[DanM]

Hi, the colors I see on the yudu site are really wacky--the whole background is black, the water is brown, etc.
This tutorial may help with putting the text to a path, though may not have specifically what you're looking for: http://www.adobe.com...t_typepath.html

[razornole]

Hello eli,

I was wondering if you saved your jpeg as a CMYK file, the internet uses RGB and that may be why you couldn't upload the file to cartotalk. Never mind I downloaded and opened it PS and it was CMYK. I converted it to sRGB and set the pixel dimensions to 1280 to get it under the 1 meg limit. Here it is.

kru

Attached Files

•  EC_CCF_SIGN_Apr2209_RGB_.jpg   783.81K   182 downloads

[razornole]

Now on to the map.

You had mentioned that it was done in Illustrator, but to me it looks like a canned/default ArcMAP.

The diagonal lines in your cultural management areas makes the map illegible. I would stay away from a hatch of any sorts. Let a different line color delineate your boundaries.

I assume that your wildlands are stripped bare of all vegetation. Not only have they not been sufficiently restocked, they are barren?

The interwest management area doesn't match you legend. Looks as if there is a transparent layer on top of it.

The drop shadow on the line work needs to go. It gives the appearance that it is floating above the basemap and not part of it.

Maybe you should put what the orange lines are in your legend. Also there is a peak in your legend.

Hope this helps,

kru

[Dennis McClendon]

Who is expected to look at this map, and what do you want them to learn from it?

[eli]

Thanks for all your comments - I think the second version is stronger. Unfortunately, I still haven't figured out how to attach images, even though it's RGB and under 1MB.

The map is intended to display the extent, and context, of the Cheakamus Community Forest. As I understand it, the map will be part of a billboard with some explantory text. As I said above, the audience will be the general population.

I don't want only line colour for the CMAs and wildlands, for two reasons: there's already lots of linework and the lines overlap with the CCF boundary so it would be difficult to tell which part is included. I did thin them out a bit.

The removal of the age classes from the wildlands was initially a request of the client. He only wanted to show areas that could be logged. I've added in all of the vegetation for the area - I usually prefer maps that don't stop at some arbitrary boundary.

There is a transparent layer overtop of all the layers outside the boundary - but there is a portion of intrawest that lies inside the CCF boundary.

(Sorry about the slow reply - I thought I had posted a reply on Thurs, but I guess I closed my browser before I had a chance to post it. Oops.)

[Dennis McClendon]

I think there's something of a mismatch between the information emphasized and the intended users. This seems like a map for the forest's professional managers, not its visitors.

I would think the general public would want to see

• the surfaced roads
• the Olympic facilities
• any recreational facilities or buildings
• trailheads or other destinations
• some indication of the terrain

I'm not sure why someone driving by (or even stopping to study) a billboard would need to distinguish between several classes of forest and six types of management or ownership. They certainly wouldn't need to see such a detailed drainage or undifferentiated road network with no names.

[eli]

I think there's something of a mismatch between the information emphasized and the intended users. This seems like a map cfor the forest's professional managers, not its visitors.

I would think the general public would want to see

• the surfaced roads
• the Olympic facilities
• any recreational facilities or buildings
• trailheads or other destinations
• some indication of the terrain

I'm not sure why someone driving by (or even stopping to study) a billboard would need to distinguish between several classes of forest and six types of management or ownership. They certainly wouldn't need to see such a detailed drainage or undifferentiated road network with no names.

Thanks for your comments Dennis! I don't think I was clear before - a community forest is not for recreation, it's actually a variation on a logging tenure. Basically, instead of a private company logging in a community, a "community forest" is an area that will be managed (read: logged) by the community - in this case, the resort municipality of whistler, as well as the lil'wat and squamish first nations.

I do have the three main Olympic facilities labelled, but they are outside the boundary. I'm guessing they don't show up very well... maybe I'll change the colour and add an "Olympic" label.

I have added the roads into the legend, and it's an interesting suggestion to add terrain - are you thinking contours or hillshade, or something else?

I've put the updated file here: http://www.yudu.com/...ommunity-Forest with the same password (cartotalk).

Thanks again for your comments! e.

[Dennis McClendon]

Well, now I'm even more puzzled. If it's not a forest for the general public to wander around in, why put up a map on a billboard?

I find it really useful to imagine the person I expect my map to communicate with. In this case, I can't quite imagine who that is.

[Clark Geomatics]

Eliana - maybe you should explain to Dennis why you're publishing that map. Not sure if that will answer his questions but it might provide some insight into the map's intended purpose.

Dennis - one thing you may/may not know is that this area is a stone's throw from Vancouver and will host the 2010 Winter Olympics. A good chunk of the map is within the Callaghan Valley area where resource extraction is a hot potato. British Columbia can be a weird place in terms of how it manages its forest and mineral resources - they use euphemisms like "recreation area" that allow timber harvesting and mining, etc.

[wolfegeo]

Eliana,

I like the changes that you made. Removing the drop shadow from the community forest border helped me to focus more on the maps content and less on the border. Also, decreasing the line size in the overlays made it easier for me to see what was within the area it was meant to define.

In the symbology, I'd recommend staying with one line for rough roads and paved roads rather than a tangle of lines.

Personally I really like the map. Now that I understand the meaning of 'Community Forest' in the context of the audience it was meant to serve I find it to be very informative.

Thanks for sharing it with us.

Kathy Wolfe
WolfeGeo

[Matthew Hampton]

I really like the improvements you made to the map. The last version is a very significant advancement. Good work! That said, I think I like the old north arrow better, unless the new one bounces-off some other higher level design element in associated collateral.

[kent]

The projection you are using works, but you may want to consider using the BC Albers projection. BC Albers is the standard for forestry in BC for 2 reasons: It displays the whole province in a single projection (doesn't really apply here), and it preserves area. Preserving area is of prime importance when dealing with resources like forestry, as area translates directly to yield and management practices. However, Whistler is located near the centre of the zone 10 projection, while Albers would have a slightly tilted north arrow. Another consideratoin would be the addition of elevation data. The area is dominated by mountains, and these are important features.