Student Spotlight 2/16-2/20

GIS 3015/L Cartographic Skills
Penelope Mitchell, Instructor

Congratulations to Alicia Lindbom for being selected as this week's student spotlight!  Check out Alicia's blog here - Making Maps.  Alicia is a returning adult learner currently completing the GIS Online Graduate Certificate program. She has been an environmental educator and program coordinator for the past 7 years, as well as a scientific illustrator on a recent Mesa College laboratory manual.   Upon completion of the certificate, Alicia hopes that the new GIS skills paired with her outreach experience will move her into a higher level science education/research paired with field work.  Alicia is the wife of a Navy helicopter pilot, currently stationed in the Milton/Pensacola, FL area. She loves spending time outside in all weather and conditions and enjoys learning the natural history of any area she finds herself in.  Welcome to the spotlight Alicia - it's a great place to visit!  Stay warm!

Typography Lab

The typography lab tasked students with labeling a portion of the Florida Keys. That may sound pretty easy, but labeling a small island chain in accordance with typographic guidelines is anything but that! This lab was all about the little details. Students used graphic design software to get the job done.

Here's a short list of the Student Learning Outcomes for the Laboratory Section.  

• Demonstrate general typographic guidelines when making a map
• Choose appropriate type families, type size, type style
• Employ proper type place for different feature types (point, line, area)
• Organize map elements to achieve balanced final map layout
• Demonstrate competency with CorelDraw
• Summarize and present lab activities and objectives

Why was Alicia selected? Alicia’s map makes this lab look easy! She’s done a great job applying the cartographic design principles from module 3 and typographic principles from this module! All point and areal features are labeled in accordance with typographic guidelines; the island chain did not provide much room for labels so Alicia appropriately used leader lines to connect labels with their associated feature. She used two type families for her map, choosing an easy to read sans serif font for the majority of the labels and thematically stylized water feature labels by using a cyan color, italics, and fitting text on a path. The symbols chosen for point features are easy to interpret and do not overpower the map. The actual island landmass is sized as large as it can be on the page to make for easy viewing. A drop shadow was employed around the landmass to make it stand out against the background. The overall map color scheme allows for intuitive interpretation and is easy on the eyes. The remaining map elements were thoughtfully balanced within the remaining space of the map page. Alicia is also a superstar on the discussion boards and is a regular at the weekly Elluminate sessions. Way to go Alicia!