Week One - Process

Learning goal

You should know that this isn't a GIS class, per say. It's about presenting your GIS maps to an audience.   Still, you need to know how to use GIS and may not be familiar with QGIS.

This first week, the goal is to have current versions of QGIS installed and to familiarize you with some basic aspects of QGIS. We will walk through the process of creating a map like one produced in a high quality magazine, Adventure Cycling.

Steps include:

1. Assessing space, scale, audience, message, context, and need
2. Creating a working directory for your project
3. Mocking up a map by hand or in a graphics program
4. Selecting and importing data
5. Setting the project projection
6. Setting the composer window
7. Manipulating data
8. Styling data
9. Exporting data (for use in Adobe Illustrator)

Map Process

A map process checklist

Background

National Geographic Magazine's Cartography of Antarctica — Lauren Tierney

Space, scale, audience, message, context, need?

These are really important questions to ask at the beginning.  Maybe we are working with a client.  These are questions I ask.  And the last question is particularly important because I personally don't want to make a map that won't serve it's intended audience.

1. What size do we have to work with?
2. What scale will convey our message?
3. What does our audience know about the topic?
4. What does our audience need to know in order to understand or take action?
5. Is our audience familiar with this part of the world?
6. How will the map get to the intended audience?
7. What’s the graphic context?  i.e. page content, sign, web
8. Is there a map that already serves our purposes?
9. How will our audience benefit, respond or take action?
10. Is there a secondary audience?
11. Can we accomplish our goal given the size, scale, audience, and desired message?

Create a working directory for your project

Create the following directories, keeping QGIS files and a readme.txt in the project directory. The readme contains project notes.  Instead of a readme, notes can be kept in Evernote a similar notebook.

• Vector Data
  • Downloaded data
  • SpatiaLite file
• Raster Data
  • Downloaded data
  • Reprojected files

• Reference
  • Downloaded pdfs
  • Specifications doc
  • Screen shots
• Styles
• Exports

Mockup and get a sense for scale

Looking at a google map, we can get a general sense for the scale by the zoom level of the google or OSM map.  For example, in the image below, I had a 5"x4" area for a map. I referenced google and a map from wikipedia. The final map will be different as it is revised, but this is a start.

Select data and import

• If scale is small 1:10 million, and boundaries don’t need precision, then try Natural Earth.
• If location is in US, and there’s an emphasis on boundaries, then try TIGER data or state data.
• If location is County or Municipal level, then try county websites or contact the GIS staff person.  Sometimes data exported as a geo pdf from ArcGIS can serve as data (still may need permission to use).
• If you want to use Open Data, then try Open Street Map

Raster Data

• 10 meter
• 90 meter
• 600 meter (30 arc seconds)

Set project projection

• Set the project projection
• Create a spatial bookmark for your desired scale

Organize data

• Don’t rely on unsaved downloaded Quick OSM data.
• Crop data to area needed and save to a SpatiaLite database.  This is more organized than using shape files.

Set Composer window

• Create new composer
• Set composer page size ( Use points for consistency.  72 points = 1 inch)
• Import map
• Set scale. It’s helpful to keep the Map View Scale and Composer Scale the same (or similar).
• Add a scale bar if you want.
• Lock the Map Items.

Manipulate data

Stylize Map

Export

In Illustrator

Project

Resources

This file contains the files needed for the Week One Map.

Five Bridges

Video

Content