GIS5007 Module 5: Choropleth & Proportional Symbol Mapping

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Cheers to Module 5! We are going more in-depth with choropleth, graduated symbol, and proportional symbol mapping across European countries, focusing on population density and wine consumption.

We first set up the country polygons to represent population density. I had settled on using Natural Breaks (Jenks) because I liked how it grouped classes naturally into similar values while maximizing the differences between classes. I also settled on 5 classes, as choropleth mapping suggested 5 to 8 classes. As for wine consumption, I used graduated symbols for my symbology because I did not like how proportional symbols could scale symbols to the variation in values, which would be hard to gauge in such a varied dataset. Classifying wine consumption with graduated symbols in 5 classes -- using Natural Breaks again -- ended up being my go-to for this case.

I chose a nice neutral color scheme for the population density, using yellow-brown, because I wanted a solid base for whatever my wine consumption symbol would be. Early on, I had the idea of using grapes as my wine symbol, so I felt the color purple would come into play. I wanted to use a color scheme for the countries that wouldn't conflict with the grapes and wouldn't be colors that could get muddled or confused when I tested in the visual color deficiency simulator in ArcGIS Pro. That feature always comes in clutch, and having worked with clients in the past with varying color deficiencies, it helps keep my maps accessible to nearly all audiences.

As for how I made my wine consumption symbol, I am proud to say I made it from scratch using the resources within ArcGIS Pro. The default symbols already available in ArcPro -- the circle, an arrow, and a teardrop -- were all spliced together to create a makeshift grape icon. Yet again, another thing I learned I could do in ArcPro thanks to John Nelson. He recently put out a short video showing him making custom symbols, and I wanted to use similar techniques to make mine.

Everything except the free, open-source icons in the upper-left corner of my layout was available or created in ArcPro. The grape symbol was unaltered from SVG Repo's site, while the wine bottle symbol is also from SVG Repo, with additional graphic polygons placed behind it to create the "filled with wine" look of the bottle. Although I wished to have created something like that from scratch so I could say that everything in this map was entirely by my hand, sometimes you get short on time and using free, open-licensed content is fair game. If I weren't traveling again, I'd probably try to personalize it a bit more to something in my artistic style. However, I'm still very happy with the little grape and wine bottle graphics. They can add a nice aesthetic flair to the map and also naturally draw the reader down the left-hand side of the layout and into the legends.

Overall, another map done and content with! Other things I was pleased about were the fun title I thought of and the quick subtext blurb underneath the subtitle, which features several on-theme puns. If I could, I would've crammed more in there, but Iceland's placement in this map made it hard to have extra space to extend my blurb. Oh well, no use wine-ing about it. Am I right? Haha!

Populations & Popping Bottles. A look through Europe's varying population densities and wine consumption.


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