My City Map

Kayla Xhixho

San Diego Map

Changes Made

  1. I changed the style from "Dots and Colors" which is the default, to "Counts and Amounts (color)". I did this because I feel like the colors are a lot easier to visualize than the dots. The dots overlap and tend to only be one color so it gets confusing when trying to understand the map.
  2. I changed the range from "High to Low" to "Extremes". This made the ranges a little larger and allowed for the data to be sorted more neatly in my opinion
  3. I changed the outline color to black to make it stand out more. This way, you are able to more clearly visualize the individual borders.
  4. I changed the color from the default blue to green. This does not really have any effect on the map like some of the other changes but I just think it makes it more pleasing and allows you to just have fun with customizing your own map to make it different.
  5. I changed the transparency of the outlines from 75 percent to 50 percent. This was more of a stylistic choice as I found the outline/borders to look a little too bulky and this change made it a little easier on the eyes.
  6. I chose to classify my data using the quantile method instead of just using the natural breaks in the data. This way I was able to create classes of data with the same number of features.
  7. I changed the number of data classes from 4 to 3. This way, I was able to classify the data into 3 different classes (instead of 4). It allowed for larger ranges of data and for everything to seem more organized as well.
  8. I used the "Drop Shadow" effect. This was able to make the entire map stand out. It was able to create a shadow behind my city so that it separates from the rest of the map and seems like it is "floating" which I thought was interesting.
  9. I also used the "Sepia" effect. This effect dulls down the colors of your map and makes them seem more muted and "brown". I just felt that my colors were too bright and I personally think it just made my map look a little more pleasing to the eye.
  10. I added/enabled labels that show the average price in each one of the neighborhoods. For example, you'll see that the lightest green corresponds to the lowest average values. So looking at the labels you can see one of the areas has "0". This just makes to interpret without having to constantly refer to the legend.

Part A Assignment

Part A map san diego

Changes I made

  1. Changed the dot density 1 dot representing 6 properties. This is because I did not want the map to look too overcrowded. Like the article provided said, you do not want the dots to just blend into one solid color. You want them to not be too sparse either, just find a good middle ground. After playing around with the amount for a while, I found out that 6 was the best option
  2. I added an outline so that the borders of all the different neighborhoods and towns can stand out and you can differentiate them better. This makes sure it does not blend into each other or the background
  3. I also changed the color of the map from the default red, to a blue color. This was simple just for aesthetic purposes and I feel like blue is not as harsh as red but still vivid enough to highlight the different areas of the map.
  4. I added an effect which is a drop shadow. I changed the color of that to gray instead of black. This way, it calls attention to the more populated areas as well. It also makes the entire city of San Diego stand out from the surrounding cities as well.
  5. I also added an effect called "bloom". What this effect does is it adds a sort of neon glow to the map. Again, it also helps to separate the map and make it stand out.
  6. Lastly, I changed the dot size. It was originally 1.5, however, the dots were too large and the map started to look more colored in. I decided that 1.1 was a great size because you could still see all the dots but it wasn't dense enough to color in the more populated areas.