12 replies to this topic

[Esther Mandeno]

Okay. I have a problem. This here map: http://www.digitalma...mulation_v2.pdf

(I can only provide a link because the map file is just too big - 14MB.)

Here is what it needs to do:

• Show all the dwellings impacted by the fire scenario (green through red shading)
• Show all the route accumulations (the blue to green thicker lines, these show the number of cars that need to pass on each segment during an evacuation)
• Show the egress locations (out along 4th street and Sir Francis Drake)

Now, here's the thing. I know this is too hard to read, but the audience is only the client and fire managers so keep in mind that too much information may not be a problem, and they pretty much want all this info on the map. Also, this is not intended to print out, well, maybe in the future, but not right now. I am providing the map in PDF format with layers. If you take the time to download the huge file, and expand the layer button on the left, you will see that most of the layers and labels can be turned on/off. So, the idea is that fire planners can say at 3.5 hours after the fire reaches this point, these are the homes affected, this is the route they have to take, this is where the fire is blocking their escape route.

What might you do to make this more presentable?

All done in ArcMap, by the way. And I have a couple more to do (different scenarios), so I thought I'd get some input sooner rather than later.

Thanks in advance.

[joelschlager]

I have two things that caught my attention:

1.) The Ignition line in the legend is more of a fill symbol rather than a line symbol

2.) Critical facilities for me seem to be hard to distinguish from dwellings even though they are labeled appropriately

Both observations imply a general user, to which you mentioned that it is not the case with such a design, but thought it would help to some degree to share.

- Jonathan

[David Medeiros]

Am I seeing the symbology correctly or did it default? The blocked dwellings are shown as # and other dwellings are shown as "

There's a lot going on here but it's not terrible. I know you said they want a data intensive map but I think you could simplify it a little. Here's a quick list of what I see:

1) label halos are too big, eliminate them or make then smaller.

2) symbology may be defaulting, if not look for better symbols in Arc to represent the various point features.

3) the yellow and light green accumulation lines are hard to read on screen, maybe try a different color scheme (single color ramp). Also, what is the flow indicator the color or the thickness, you're using both right now.

4) Why label the exact accumulation number on each route if it's already given a range by color? I'd switch to using the range by color only and leave the exact numbers by street in a table or appendix. If they must have the number son the map tone them down a bit in size or make non bold font style.

5) The ignition line look like a wide disconnected road, change the color or symbology.

6) the parcel lines could be thinner and I personally might try a different color, something very close to gray in but with just enough color to lift them above the shaded relief background.

[BioGeoMan]

Thanks for posting the map Esther, very interesting subject matter. In general, I agree with all of David's comments except that combining symbology for the flow rates works for me and providing the real numbers directly on the map provides valuable information without crossreferencing a legend.

A few comments:

• I don't think the hillshade is necessary, it adds unneeded complexity.
• Does your client require you to show the locations of all the houses? It seems the parcel lines would be adequate to show the number of residences, but I suppose on larger properties, knowing the locaiton of the structure(s) would be useful.
• This may be a bit unorthodox, but you may want to consider having a darker background since all your other colors are lighter, the contrast may make the routes, parcel lines, and other colored areas stand out more.
• What is the blue outlined area in the middle of the map?
• The ability to turn off/on layers would help with the complexity, so the extent of editing would depend upon how it will be viewed (e.g. on a screen with layer options or on paper).

[Esther Mandeno]

Awesome - all good ideas. I don't like the background either, but I threw it in there on a whim, because just plain white was so white. But I'll try toning it down and make it darker? I'll see what works.

Will tone down the fonts too.

Right now the map is shown on-screen only, but I'm sure there will be a report coming up and when it does, I'll suggest to the client that multiple sheets might be in order for all this info.

Oh, there shouldn't be any # and ", that must be a PDF/font thing. The dwellings are squares and homes blocked from egress (meaning the fire overran their escape route) are triangles.

Thanks everyone!

[razornole]

Awesome - all good ideas. I don't like the background either, but I threw it in there on a whim, because just plain white was so white. But I'll try toning it down and make it darker? I'll see what works.

Will tone down the fonts too.

Right now the map is shown on-screen only, but I'm sure there will be a report coming up and when it does, I'll suggest to the client that multiple sheets might be in order for all this info.

Oh, there shouldn't be any # and ", that must be a PDF/font thing. The dwellings are squares and homes blocked from egress (meaning the fire overran their escape route) are triangles.

Thanks everyone!

Sounds like a font issue to me. Macs have a hard time reading ESRI fonts/symbols/wingdings, all they see is ASCII. To avoid this create outlines of your fonts/symbols.

kru

[Kathi]

Oh, there shouldn't be any # and ", that must be a PDF/font thing. The dwellings are squares and homes blocked from egress (meaning the fire overran their escape route) are triangles.

Thanks everyone!

Sounds like a font issue to me. Macs have a hard time reading ESRI fonts/symbols/wingdings, all they see is ASCII. To avoid this create outlines of your fonts/symbols.

kru

When you export your map from ArcMap to Pdf, just make sure you embed all fonts (in the export dialog box, under one of the tabs (I think it's formatting) check the appropriate box). That should solve your font issue. This also insures that the map can be transported from one computer to another by your clients without having to worry about missing fonts.

Hope this helps,
Kathi

[Esther Mandeno]

I have two things that caught my attention:

1.) The Ignition line in the legend is more of a fill symbol rather than a line symbol

2.) Critical facilities for me seem to be hard to distinguish from dwellings even though they are labeled appropriately

Both observations imply a general user, to which you mentioned that it is not the case with such a design, but thought it would help to some degree to share.

- Jonathan

Yes, of course, Johnathan - thanks!

[Esther Mandeno]

Ok, here's a new version. http://www.digitalma...lation_NPYS.pdf

Any better?

I don't have the layers in this one (thought it would make the file smaller, but it didn't), but keep in mind that they will be able to turn on/off layers to see things more clearly or less cluttered.

I'm also creating an animation of the map (would show fire progression, homes affected, and road accumulations at set intervals).

Thanks again for looking...

[David Medeiros]

Ok, here's a new version. http://www.digitalma...lation_NPYS.pdf

Any better?

I don't have the layers in this one (thought it would make the file smaller, but it didn't), but keep in mind that they will be able to turn on/off layers to see things more clearly or less cluttered.

I'm also creating an animation of the map (would show fire progression, homes affected, and road accumulations at set intervals).

Thanks again for looking...

Looks much better, the symbols are show correctly on my sysytem now (but that may be because I'm at work on a PC now).

I think using a single color ramp and line width together on the accumilation lines looks much better than t he multicolor lines but because so much of the background line work is gray or black it blends in too much. I suggest using a different color for the accumulation color ramp (light to dark orange for example) just avoid too bright a color set.

I would also take the dwellings symbol color from full black to very dark gray (90%k) just to soften the map a little more.

Ignition line looks much better but may be getting lost a little in the red orange edge of your burn area. You could use a SLIGHTLY thicker line, or darker red.

I think an animation of this map would look pretty cool, please post when you get it done.

Moving in the right direction! Good work.

[Esther Mandeno]

Great! Thanks David!

[DOT Cartographer]

I'm a bit late on this one, but here are my two cents: I think you've achieved a difficult task; this is a great quantity of data to represent all in one place--really cool! I wonder if there is a meaningful cutoff for the "minutes" (is that response time?) -- maybe you can switch to a different geometric shape to distinguish them, as it's a bit challenging to discern between seven different sizes.

[Esther Mandeno]

I'm a bit late on this one, but here are my two cents: I think you've achieved a difficult task; this is a great quantity of data to represent all in one place--really cool! I wonder if there is a meaningful cutoff for the "minutes" (is that response time?) -- maybe you can switch to a different geometric shape to distinguish them, as it's a bit challenging to discern between seven different sizes.

Thanks DOT! I see you are in Carson City - not too far from me! However, I'll be moving down to Santa Rosa, CA soon.

Anyway, thanks for looking and the suggestion - I'll try that.