Cartographic Skills, Lab 8: Proportional Symbol Maps

Figure 1

In this weeks lab, we explored proportional symbol maps and different ways to portray information.  In the above map, Figure 1, you can see how cluttered it is.  It was a very basic map, almost thrown together.  The main purpose of this map is to show one way of using a proportional symbol.  The circle sizes are directly related to how much wine (by 1000's of liters) was consumed in Europe in 2010.  We had the options of using a solid circle, hollow circle or with a symbol of a wine bottle.  While the bottle itself was neat, it proved to be misleading and confusing.  I decided to go with the hollow circle because I thought it was easiest to understand.

Figure 2

In Figure 2, we zoomed up to contain mostly western Europe.  This makes it easier to decipher the countries.  As for the symbol that was used, it's a combination of a solid (yet transparent) circle with a wine bottle graphic.  Again, the size of the bottle and circle were proportional to the amount of wine consumed in that country in the year 2010.  I learned a lot during this lab and can see how transparency, proportional symbols and an area specific map can really turn things around!