Professional Effects

"Professional Effects" contain an endless amount of tricks and artistic effects that make a map look just that...professional.

With what we've learned in class so far, we are already able to make maps similar to those maps we see published on NBC, CNN, and other great map sources.

Shape Tweens, Motion tweens, timeline control and basic scripting are all we need to make the basics. It is the little details now that turn a map from a basic map, to a professional looking map.

Here are some examples of things that make a map look good:

http://www.nytimes.com/ref/world/20070622_CAPEVERDE_GRAPHIC.html

Starting off with a simple map. This map looks very clean and neat, mainly due to its simplicity. Although it has alot of information, it is very easy to navigate.
One of the things the publisher did for this map to make it look as professional as it does was to simplify everything.
-Lines are thin and neat.
-White space is very balanced.
-Very simple and good looking interactive controls (the tabs at top) - easy and intuitive to use.

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http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2008/06/09/business/20080609_GAS_GRAPHIC.html?scp=8&sq=map&st=cse#tab1

The NewYork times loves making simple maps. Little things in this map that add to its professional look include:
-quick fading in and out when switching from dataset to dataset - Easy to do, tweens with alpha changes do the job

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http://www.eyesondarfur.org/satellite.html

This eyesondarfur map looks very nice.
-The contrasting colors add alot of visual appeal - the way they have boxed in the map, and the layout of the whole scene works very well.
-ZOOMING - the zooming effect is very appealing. It allows you to start with a far view of the land, and zoom in to the a desired level. Tweens (enlarging a base map) make this effect very easy to create.
-Blur Effects - sometimes when switching from one set to another, a different basemap must be used - adding blur effects give an impression of a satellite refocusing, making the map seem more 'real'
- Again, similar to the NYTimes map (and most other good looking maps), objects fade in and out quickly, instead of just appearing on the page.

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http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/world/interactives/sudan/?hpid=artslot

I know we already looked at this map in class, but the little details in it make the map look so good. I'll name a few 'artistic' effects that make this look professional, whethere the map be static or dynamic
-Drop shadows on boxes make the objects stand out - gives map depth
-Borders around countries of interest define an area for our eyes to focus - choosing right size, color and alpha make this work!
-Land effects - showing mountains, rivers, etc from satellite imagery or drawn images and make more appealing and again add depth
-Layout, this makes or breaks a map I think. a fluid and well thought-out layout works well, plan this!
-Font - I love typography. The font you select, how you space it, size it, etc does alot to the look of a map (or any other design for that matter). Although the computers in the geog lab don't offer a huge list of fonts, we still have alot of work with.
Some typgraphy hints:
-Use fonts that work with what you are presenting. Somethign old or classical or historical might use some script fonts, or fonts with serifs.
- More modern designs might call for straight fonts. simple and square or rounded
- When using multiple fonts, use fonts that are the same and/or fonts that contrast. Avoid using fonts that are very similar but not. Viewers might think its a mistake.

I guess thats all for now, if I think of other things i'll post them up