Statement of Goals & Choices
For my nonlinearity project, I chose to create a map of a forest reserve in my hometown. A previous map of the park already exists; however, I wanted to create a new updated map with a range of additional informational elements included so that readers can make an informed decision on the trails they want to hike. I hope that my final product can provide hikers with an in-depth look at the park so that they are able to make their hike as enjoyable and comprehensible as possible. The previous map gave very little information outside of the trails and their names. With this map, I plan to provide a complete analysis of the park and include as much information as possible so that any hiker, novice, experienced, young, or old, is able to have a fun trip. Each level of hiker will be able to evaluate difficulty by reading the terrain map, looking at photos and the descriptions of each trail.
As mentioned before, the original map was very crude and had little more than just the trails marked. I have added coloration on the trails to indicate their use, a color overlay that shows where forest is and where it is open prairie/meadow, a marking where the creek runs through the park, markings that show photo previews of the park. I plan to add an elevation indicator, descriptions to accompany each photo, and a digitally interactive map. My goals were inspired by looking at the original map and realizing it didn’t provide much information. From there I made a list of things I wanted to add or that I felt the map missed. After this I imported the original map into Adobe Illustrator and began tracing where the original map trails. Then I began to add additional elements by importing other maps into the existing illustrator file. I found a satellite image map of the park and mapped the forest and creek. I then found a slightly updated map made in the 90’s that had a few more of the newer trails marked, but not some of the older trails. I combined the maps with their differing elements and created a map that had all the information presented into one image. I chose to create a very minimalistic design as there is a lot of information on this map and I didn’t want it to become too crowded and difficult to read. I still wanted to keep the additional information because it is crucial when determining what trail to take based on who is hiking. For example, a trail that has a very rough and elevated terrain wouldn’t be suitable for an elderly hiker. The minimal design combined with the ample information provides an informed decision rather than an ambiguous marking that may merely say “this trail is difficult”. This is why I provided the information, but didn’t make these definitive markings. The photos and descriptions of the trail further explain these trails as well.
I chose to pursue a map as opposed to other choices for a few key reasons. I first decided that I wanted to do something I was really passionate about because that is when I produce my best work. My love of hiking, outdoors, and also visual design created a really fun project for me to work with. Working with twine and creating a story is very fun and interesting for me to play, but I know I would not be passionate about writing my own story. I also wanted to do something that incorporates choice into real life. The map prompt seemed to most interesting and practical for what I wanted to accomplish. Creating a map allowed for a lot of artistic freedom in how I present the information as well. The choices mentioned in my previous paragraph are a testament to this. A story can be as intricate as you create it to be, however, the amount of endings and combinations of decisions is limited to the number of options you create for each decision. The possible number of different routes and trips you can take based on a map, however, is an incredibly large number with a number possible of routes that would be difficult to calculate. This makes it imperative to include as much information as possible so that a user can weigh as many options as possible in a well-informed manner. I liked the open-endedness of the map concept and how applicable it is to the real world.
When creating this project, I thought back to some of our readings and how multimodality had been applied to other projects studied. One example of this is Paula Scher’s presentation of text and her branding of different companies and organizations. Specifically in her public theater design, she presented the text in a very clear, recognizable, and branded way. Although a completely different application, I utilized this methodology for creating my map, making sure it was easily readable and followed a consistent brand and theme throughout the design. The second reading that I considered when creating my work was Shipka’s article about multimodality and learning in the classroom. She talks about how multimodality helps those creating the projects better understand their content, while also creating a unique and interactable way for an audience to understand it as well. “Instead of my telling students what the final product will be, an activity-based multimodal theory of composing facilitates greater communicative flexibility by providing students with a series of open-ended tasks that ask them to consider how even a seemingly simple, straightforward, and relatively familiar communicative objective might be accomplished in any number of ways,” (Shipka 358). By adding elements like images, color coded trails, and indicators of elements like creeks and trees, the map utilizes some of the strengths of multimodal presentation and projects as discussed in the article. The last article that is relevant to this project is Interactive maps: What we know and what we need to know by Robert Roth. This article talks about interactive cartography specifically and some of the benefits it has as opposed to traditional static maps. It talks specifically about designing an interactable map and the science behind the design. This article has a lot of really great information reference and what to consider in my process for creating my digital presentation of the map. It looked into the specific ways that a user interacts with a map; specifically what information, like terrain and nature elements, are deemed valuable and most utilized by those using the map. This helped guide my creation of the map and acted as framework for what I needed to incorporate into my final design.
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