Creating an effective layout that communicates the results of your GIS efforts takes thought and planning. There is more to it than just printing your map or randomly adding some elements to a page. In general, there are three basic considerations that you need to address as you are creating a new layout:
- Purpose: Why does this map exist?
- Audience: Who will be using the map?
- Situation: How will it be used or presented?
All of the preceding three factors will impact how you design your layout. They will guide the size of the map, the orientation, the content, and more.
In this section, we will understand the purpose of a map, along with working out the audience for a map.
Understanding the purpose
Each map or poster exists for a reason. It has some purpose—it may be trying to show the location of the city hall, what parcels are in the flood...
