This week I mainly explored maps, learning how maps can be used creatively and what kinds of work we can do on them. In this week’s lab, I used ArcGIS to create a personal campus map of the campus locations I visited most often this semester and annotated it with tools such as fields and labels. Here is my Google CSV file, which records information about the five places I visited most this term.
For the basemap, I chose the Topographic basemap. Its colors are relatively light and do not overpower the content, which lets the buildings I want to showcase stand out better. In the polygon layer I drew, I added a total of four fields: Building Name, Latitude, Longitude, and the number of times I visit the place per week (Times I Visit This Place a Week). I set the labels to show the building name and weekly visit count, which presents my map’s core intent more directly. In addition, I colored the polygons red because I personally like red and because its color is very vivid and eye-catching on the map.
This web mapping attempt gave me deeper reflections on the work of Digital Humanities. With web maps, we can present more subjective content; a map is no longer just a tool in the traditional sense for showing others objective facts, but can hold more subjective personal emotions and lived experiences. It allows non-experts to reconstruct space using simple data formats (such as CSV), layering personal memories, feelings, and daily routes onto geographic coordinates.
At the same time, ArcGIS allows multi-layering, which means we can overlay labels with different meanings and dimensions on the same map. By displaying them in separate layers, it helps us classify landmarks better or highlight different points of emphasis.
Hi Mandy, I like your map! The detail about adding the number of times you visit each location a week is cool, and it makes the information really easy to grasp. I also liked your point about layering in ArcGIS, which is a big benefit I had been taking for granted. Being able to add so much information seems like a really important aspect of digital mapping, and something that also sets digital maps apart from physical maps. The interactivity and larger volume of information that digital maps provide seem like very big positives.
I like your map! I agree that the multi-layering is an incredibly useful tool and I think that the ability to see different things and different representations of data at the same time on one map. I think that it also makes your map super easy to understand which is awesome. I think the ability to see so much data at one time is a major advantage to using a digital mapping software as compared to traditional maps.
Hi Mandy!
I really like the red outline you chose for your buildings with the thick border. It’s really clear and visually appealing! I agree with you that that maps can be used for reasons that go beyond objective facts, that have more symbolic meanings and intents. I appreciated that you mentioned how web mapping can give non-experts the ability to create maps. I think that that a very important benefit of web mapping as a tool.
Hey Mandy, your map is really vibrant and your choice of color makes things stand out nicely! I definitely agree on your stance with how digital maps can have deeper personal meanings rather than standard information on a screen. Having multiple layers also is a nice touch that makes your map more complex and complete in my opinion.