Ward 7 Public Schools in Washington, D.C.

 

Gestalt's Principles present a theory of how humans perceive and organize components of complex graphical images. In this lab, we were asked to effectively leverage Gestalt's Principles while designing a map of public schools in Ward 7 of Washington, D.C. Concepts which emerge from Gestalt's Principles, such as visual hierarchy, contrast, figure-ground, and balance, were also used as a framework for our map design. 

Visual Hierarchy 

This map was created using ArcGIS Pro. One example of visual hierarchy in my map is the use of vibrant colors to emphasize thematic symbols (i.e., schools) and the use of dull, pale colors for my base information. I also used increased font sizes to emphasize important map elements, such as the title and subtitle. 

Contrast

I used contrast in size and color to easily differentiate symbols for elementary schools, middle schools, and high schools. I also used a drop shadow effect around the Washington, D.C. boundary in both the primary map and the inset map to draw the reader’s attention to this area. 

Figure-Ground

One way I established figure-ground was by using a lighter color to emphasize Ward 7 as the area of interest and a darker grey color to establish the rest of Washington, D.C. as the ground. Also, as explained above, I used vibrant colors to emphasize important figures such as thematic symbols, interstates, and highways, while greys and other dull colors were used to deemphasize base information such as parks, waterways, and major roads outside of Ward 7.  

Balance

One way I incorporated balance in my layout was by selecting a landscape orientation and roughly splitting up my map into thirds horizontally. The left third is primarily the dark grey of Washington, D.C., the middle third is primarily the white of Ward 7, and the right third is primarily a medium grey representing the area outside of D.C.. This division into thirds creates a pleasing aesthetic. Also, I played with the extent of the primary map so that the sharp eastern corner of Washington, D.C. landed directly in the vertical center of the frame. I then labeled all schools south of this corner along the SE edge of Washington, D.C. and all schools north of this corner along the NE edge of Washington, D.C., creating a balance between these two groups of labels. Lastly, I placed map elements so they were equally distributed throughout the entire map, avoiding any significant gaps of white space.