Cartographic Design

Geography 312 Dr. Brandon Plewe
MWF, 2:00-2:50pm (+F -3:50am)  672B SWKT, 2-4161, plewe@byu.edu
660 & 640 SWKT  Office Hours: M-F 11:00-12:00am

Objectives:

The growing complexity of our society has increased the need for maps of all kinds.  The map is valuable for representing the world, for discovering geographic patterns and processes, for communicating knowledge, and even for influencing opinions and behavior.

The primary goals of this course are to examine the various elements of map design from a geographical and GIS perspective and enhance our ability to communicate knowledge and represent the world through maps.  To achieve these goals, we will be focusing on the following objectives:
  1. Learning the basic concepts, theories, and procedures of thematic map design
  2. Developing the ability to identify good and bad design in existing maps
  3. Practical skills in software tools commonly used in map production
  4. Producing quality maps designed for a particular purpose and audience that you can keep in your portfolio

Prerequisites

Srict: Geography 212; Recommended: Geography 211, 311, ArcGIS training.

Required Texts:

You need to purchase the first two books, but not the third (I have scanned the chapters you need to read).  The first two books are not in the bookstore, but can be ordered on Amazon inexpensively.  You will be expected to complete the reading by the Monday of the week it is shown.  To encourage the timely reading of assigned text sections, I will ask for class participation; be prepared each day with one of the following things, and I will randomly call on a few people for comments, for which you will receive points.
- Description of something that you found particularly informative
- Something you found particularly confusing or would like explained further
- An example map that exhibits good or bad use of the principles in the chapter
- Reaction to something you may not agree with (no, it won't affect your grade), with justification
- Your own thoughts on the principles that go beyond what is covered in the text
My hope is that this will encourage the days will be spent more in discussion than lecture, and that we can quickly dispense with the basic things and focus on the more difficult topics.

Requirements:

  1. Lab Assignments: There will be several exercises (simple maps) to help you learn the principles and gain experience in map design, using ESRI ArcMap.  Each assignment is generally given on Friday and due the following Friday, unless stated otherwise in the schedule. 20 pts, 7 labs: 140 possible points
  2. Final Project: You will make a map of your own design; you will have some freedom of topic within a specific area I will give you.  More detail will be given later. 100 points
  3. Midterm Exam: Covers the readings and lectures from the first half of the class (Software details will not be tested).  40 points
  4. Final Exam ( Wed Dec 14, 8:00am): The final exam will be comprehensive, covering the lectures and the book. 50 points
Grading will be according to the normal breakdown (94%+: A, 90-94 A-, 87-90 B+, etc.).  Scores will be posted on Blackboard as soon as they are recorded.

Schedule:

The extra hour on Friday will be spent in the lab, discussing and working on assignments.  It will be optional unless I say otherwise.  The link on each lecture topic goes to a skeleton outline of that lecture to help you study and take notes.  Also, all my powerpoints are under q:\classdata\312. For the readings, B=Brewer, K=Krygier, D=Dent (read online pages)
Date  Lecture Topic  Reading Lab Given (Fri)
Sep 6,8
 Introduction to Thematic Mapping
B 1(p3-17); K1, 2
Sep 11,13,15
 Symbolizing Geography
B 6; K3, 4, 7, 9.1-2
 Dixie National Forest
Sep 18,20,22 Typography
B 2, 3; K 10 Northeast Labels
Sep 25,27,29 Color
 B 4, 5; K 11
Oct 2,4,6
 Generalization
 K 8.1
 Guatemala
Oct 9,11,13 Projections
 		B 1(p18-19); K 5 
Oct 16,18 M: Layout, W: Midterm, F: No Class
 B 1(p20-29); K 6, 12 Manti-La Sal Layout
Oct 23,25,27
 Layout, Choropleth Maps
 K 9.3a, D 7
 Final Project
Oct 30,N1,3
 Choropleth Maps, Classification
 K 8.2 Choropleth Map
Nov 6,8,10
 Dot, Isarithmic & Chorochromatic Maps K 9.3b-c; D 8, 10
Nov 13,15,17
 Proportional Symbolization K 9.3d-e; D 9, 11, 12 National Park Stats
Nov 20,21 Catch up
Final Project Data
Nov 27,29,D1
 Map Production
 B 1(30-37)
Dec  4,6,8 Internet Mapping

Dec 11,13 Work on final project

The most up-to-date version of this syllabus, along with lecture outlines and assignments, can always be found at:
http://www.geog.byu.edu/faculty/plewe/312/