Cartography: Module 5

 Choropleth Mapping


This module was all about practice using proportional symbol maps. We created a map of European wine consumption per capita using graduated symbols on an overlay of population density. The biggest challenge in this exercise was figuring out how to fit all the elements into the layout without generating conflict between different symbologies. The biggest hack I found to mitigate overlapping labels was the conflict resolution feature in labelling properties. As always, the font choice is custom, and the color scheme is selected with user legibility in mind. The projection used was the Europe Albers Equal Area Conic projection. This cartographic projection is specifically designed to represent Europe with minimal distortion. It belongs to the family of equal-area conic projections, which means that areas on the map are proportionally accurate, though other properties like shapes and angles may be distorted. Hence, being ideal for modeling European wine consumption per capita.

For the European continent's population density, I chose a graduated color scheme with a gradient ranging from light to dark green hues. I chose green because I knew my graduated symbologies for the wine consumption per capita would be represented by pink and red tones, so I wanted that key information to pop. Green is also a safe bet for ease of interpretability when representing any landmass.

For the wine consumption per capita information, I chose graduated symbols because I liked the higher variation and discernibility between classes for this data set.

The color scheme used was small to large clear, pink, and red, representing lowest to highest wine consumption per capita. This color scheme leads the user to naturally interpret the big red symbol as the highest class, as it looks to be almost busting with wine. Graduated symbols allow for the clear visualization of variations in consumption levels across different regions. By adjusting the size of symbols based on consumption data, map viewers can quickly distinguish areas of high and low wine consumption, aiding in comparative analysis.

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