Thys Project 2

http://arcg.is/1Siq8i7

5 Responses to "Thys Project 2"

Theo Miesse says:

April 19, 2016 at 10:52 am

1. The story of this map is clearly stated in the first slide, which is to represent five important revolutionary war battles.
2. The scale of the map at the various battle sites might be a little too small-scale
1. David Rhodes says:
  
  April 19, 2016 at 11:07 am
  
  Nice work Thys!
  
  1. The story is very clearly told and the battlefields that you chose are pretty fascinating.
  2. The map served its purpose and helped tell the story by showing clearly where the battefield was in addition to modern local cities for reference.
  3. The generalization was right on. Not too much detail and too many small cities, but enough so that I knew where each battlefield was in general.
  4. There was not much symbology used due to the nature of the web app, but I was not confused or lost by the lack of symbology.
  5. The symbols match the data!
  6. The labels are clear. The base map is useful and clearly distinguishes water and land which is important for some of the coastal battlefields.
  7. The figure ground organization is clear and the base map provides outline for the battlefields which is incredibly helpful.
  8. The map itself is simple and therefore has good visual hierarchy.
  9. I am interested to see what the battlefields look like, so maybe some pictures with the description would be a nice touch but overall, looks great!
2. Theo Miesse says:
  
  April 19, 2016 at 11:09 am
  
  Sorry, ignore the above comment! Accidentally submitted before I was finished
  
  1. The story of this map is clearly stated in the first slide, which is to represent five important revolutionary war battles.
  2. Your map projection looks fine!
  3. The scale of the map at the various battle sites might be a little too small-scale, and you might want to show a slightly smaller area with more detail. However, the scale you are using is still pretty clear!
  4. Your symbology is clear — the red dots that you use to symbolize the battles are labeled in the legend.
  5. Your symbols match your data — the red dots accurately reflect the location of each battle
  6. The text symbols are easy to read. The size, color, and font of your text is great, and the titles are clear and concise. It might help to smoothen out some of your writing to make the story sound more professional.
  7. Figure-ground organization doesn’t seem to be an issue in your map — there isn’t anything distracting from your points of importance
  8. Your visual hierarchy is clear based on the scroll in your storymap (going from battle 1 up to battle 5).
  9. I can’t think of any other elements you should add! Good job!
Ken Hoffman says:

April 19, 2016 at 11:17 am

I like the idea of your map. There are a few changes I think you should make to help improve it.

Comments:
1. I can tell the map’s story is the major battles of the revolutionary war. I think you should add dates for each battle to give the viewer a better picture of the time in between battles. If you have time, I think you should add in more battles from the war.

2. Projection looks good.

3. There is a good level of generalization however I think that when the viewer zooms in to a particular point (battle), it should zoom in slightly more than it currently does. If you have time, you can show details of the battle (routes, controlled territories, deaths) when one zooms in.

4. You should try changing your markers to make them more closely related to the Revolutionary War. Instead of using a basic red dot, you can have a musket represent each battle. I think you should also label the particular battles on the marker instead of what you have now, “battle 1”. Also, you can color code your markers to represent the order of the battles or who won particular battles.

5. Looks good. Like I said before, I think it would look better if you used a different color than just red.

6. Text looks good.

7. There is not much figure-ground organization. It is good how your map zooms in on the battles when they are clicked though. If you had trails showing the routes both sides traveled, it would definitely help. Showing a fuller description of the revolutionary war will help draw the reader’s eye better.

8. Again, you should have trails lead the viewer from one battle to the next. Maybe include more battles to show a fuller picture of the war.

9. I would focus on adding details to your map to make it more appealing and so that it can tell a clearer story. You can do this by labeling your markers with the battle names, adding more battles, adding trails, and differentiating colors. Also, I think it would look better if you focused your map on the coast further since no battles take place west of Richmond.
Justin Madron says:

April 19, 2016 at 3:26 pm

Thys,

I really like the concept of this map. Here are a couple of suggestions for the next submission..

– Imagery would really help enhance the map. Showing battle maps, pictures, and supporting media would help better tell the story.
– The basemap is really messing with me, especially since we are talking about Revolutionary War Battles. I would see if you could find an older historical basemap, or something more simple and less modern.
– The markers could use more styling. Is there a marker that could better represent a battle or the destruction that these battles caused?
– The first slide is your chance to really capture the attention of your audience. Make sure you set the stage for the rest of the story and have exciting pictures that make the user want to explore further.

Keep up the good work, with a couple of changes this will be a really cool story map!

-Justin

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