13 replies to this topic

[Pete]

As a follow on from the Inverness Major Developments Map I've had to remake the Highland-wide map of the same sort of thing.

I'm not nearly done with it yet but what do people think so far?

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There's a part of me that wants the two maps to "go together" but because the scale of the maps are so different making a Highland map to match the Inverness one might have been too ambitious ... even for me!

The different coloured tiles represent short, medium and long term aspirations - the colours are negotiable but one has to be purple - and the black tile near Beauly (middle of the map) is to be confirmed.

I don't know if I'm going to put roads and rail on the map but settlements will probably need to be included along with the names of at least the principal towns.

Also, for fun - this map contains heaps of MasterMap data ... what do you think it could be ?!

[Pete]

A couple of close-ups:

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[frax]

It looks very good - but I have to say that I am not so fond of the marble/clouds on the sides - or will there be other information in these panels?

[Pete]

Been tinkering ... !

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I changed the labels to be tints of the same colour - they are the same thing after all - and varied the size according to whether they are short, medium or long term. The drop shadows have also been altered to reinforce the impact of the more pertinent short term developments over the more distant projects.

Frax - there is going to be a lot of information to fill the spaces I've left in the margins. Have you seen the similar map I'm doing for Inverness? Hopefully it's going to look a lot like that.

[rudy]

It looks very good - but I have to say that I am not so fond of the marble/clouds on the sides - or will there be other information in these panels?

I concur . . .I find it distracting, particularly when there is relief shading on the land, one doesn't know quite what to make of the effects in the water.

[DaveB]

I changed the labels to be tints of the same colour - they are the same thing after all - and varied the size according to whether they are short, medium or long term. The drop shadows have also been altered to reinforce the impact of the more pertinent short term developments over the more distant projects.

Frax - there is going to be a lot of information to fill the spaces I've left in the margins. Have you seen the similar map I'm doing for Inverness? Hopefully it's going to look a lot like that.

Remembering the Inverness map I'm not too bothered by the cloud effect. It is a little distracting right now, but there's not much text on it yet.

As for the label/tile thingies, I would like to see a little more contrast between the 3 classes - either greater size difference or greater color difference (or both). If I look at individual ones I can match them up to the legend, but I'm having a harder time picking out each class in the overall distribution. If the latter isn't important though they're probably okay as is.

[Nick H]

Another very pretty map and I'm sure much better than just fit for purpose. I like the idea of using the 'cloud' to stitch the map and the text together. I'll be interested in seeing the text, by the way .

Regards, N.

[Pete]

Remembering the Inverness map I'm not too bothered by the cloud effect.

You get used to it ! Personally, if I'm making a halfways "real"-looking map I wouldn't want to highlight the area of interest with a simple mask - it looks at odds with the rest of the map. Don't get me wrong: if I'm doing a thematic map or something more formal then I'm all for blocks of colour and solid masks but I like to get my crayons out when I'm doing a map like this!

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I've increased the contrast in terms of size and colour of the numbered tiles - hopefully the difference should be more apparent on the map. Previously the medium and long term classes were 90% of the size of the short term and then the long term a further 90% of that. Now, the medium term is back to the original size, short term is 20% bigger and long term is 20% smaller.

I spent most of yesterday typing the text in >>yawn<< the numbers don't show up yet because the coloured squares are not in place yet - I'll do that when I'm certain the text won't change! There's also a little more room in the margins - apparently my overlonds want this map to be more visual that the last ... ... It's a 118.9x84.1cm map of the Highlands ... it doesn't get much more visual than that ! As yet, I only have one image to include - if I don't get any more than that I don't think I'll bother with it, it would be more of a distraction than anything else.

[DaveB]

I like it. The short term development pops out just enough I can quickly see where those are. Then I can "drill down" and pick out the medium term and then the long term. Nice work!

[Pete]

Bah: it's just not fair! You invest a little time and care in coming up with three tints of purple that are distinct enough to be easily discernable but not so bold as to smack the map viewer in the face and what do you get? An edict from on high that each should have a different colour and that the map is not vibrant enough If that was all that was needed I wouldn't have spent the last fortnight making a decent image and just used the 250k raster ...

I'm sure with the right sort of councelling I'll get over it ...

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Foiled again!

Does anyone have a nice combination of three colours? I know the split complementaries of purple (corporate colour - sorry!) are green and orange but is the more vibrant colour for the smallest class a little counter-intuitive? I suppose it does help to draw attention to the smaller shapes but does it look alright to people?

[Nick H]

Oy, 'vibrant' they want, time for a new Invergordon Mutiny perhaps. For colours you could try Color Brewer:

http://colorbrewer2.org/

But honestly, it looks super as it is, the work really shows.

I think you could do away with the north arrow, one would hope that the target audience will know which way is up.

Regards, N.

[Pete]

Oy, 'vibrant' they want, time for a new Invergordon Mutiny perhaps.

There are two kinds of colours - bright, bold and exciting, or those from what I like to refer to as the arse-end of the pallette !

Funny you should mention the north arrow ... I couldn't find a spot on the map where it looked at home so I just sort of abandoned the north and scale down by the title. I'll give it a poke around tomorrow - I'm at home today in festive preparation ... did you know old drafts of maps make an interesting alternative to traditional wrapping paper ?!

[Pete]

Here we are. Hopefully this is the map as good as finished!

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[Pete]

... and this is the new map alongside its stable-mate.

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Thanks for everyone's input into the both of these maps - I think they've turned out not too bad !