GGS 411: Robert's Nonstatic Maps: March 2015

Tuesday, March 24, 2015

Final Project Topic: Initial Idea

Here's the scoop: in approx. 500 words, propose an idea for your Final Project. Explain the topic, the reason you've selected it, the audience of the map(s), the type of visualization you envision (be specific and reference labs we've done if relevant), the data source (and if it has been acquired), the production steps (data processing, software, etc.), and a schedule. Also discuss any issues/obstacles you foresee.

For my final project, I want to make an interactive Flash map of Fenwick Library. The map will have three parts, an index displaying the Dewey Decimal System that will be hidden 'inside' like a pop-up window in a web browser, the map panel, and the information panel. Each of the topic lines in the index will be a button that will minimize the index and display the appropriate floor's map panel, with the relevant aisles highlighted. I'll do the highlighting with adjusted transparency boxes. Users will also be able to manually navigate through the library, changing floors and buildings by clicking buttons and seeing which topics are in aisles they mouse over as the data is displayed in the information panel.

I'll be using labs 2-5 for reference, and I'll need to check Mason's library services to see if they have any maps that I can digitize. If not, I'll need to make the map myself. Since the bookshelf-containing areas of Fenwick are either identical or highly similar from floor to floor, though, this should not be a problem.

I have not yet made a schedule, as my approach for projects this semester can be summed up as "do it as fast as possible, as soon as possible, because oh god there are eight assignments due during the same seven day period."

EDIT: The GMU Library system uses the LC (Library of Congress) organizational system instead of the Dewey Decimal one. I have a (very basic) picture of the floors from a fire escape plan, and will contact Mrs. Cynthia Bentley to see if she has a more detailed one available.

EDIT 2: Here is a rough mock-up, containing one of the buildings and two basic buttons to change between stages.

Monday, March 23, 2015

Lab 6

Index Page for your Mason Site

Okay, so if you're stumped about what's wrong with your mason site, there are a couple of things you'll need to look at first.

First, go to this page. It'll walk you through creating a publicly viewable folder on mason.gmu.edu/~USERNAME.

Now put your lab 6 html file, your va.json file, and your cities.tsv file into that public folder. You still won't be able to see them, and that's because you need an index that tells your computer that they're available to be seen.

index.html is the default page, it'll be the one that gets pulled up when you type in mason.gmu.edu/~YOURMASON.

If you don't have one, you'll need to make an index file. This file can be made in notepad or any other plaintext or html editor, and here's the code for it.

<html>
<head>
<title>YOUR NAME'S Mason Site</title>
</head>
<body bgcolor=blue" text="white">
<h1>Index</h1>
<p>
<a href="NAMEOFYOURLAB.html">Lab 6 Map of Virginia</a>
</p>
</body>
</html>

Just copy and paste that in, fill in the parts that are in allcaps, and put that in your public folder as well.

When you go there, you should see something like this.

Click on the link. If it doesn't lead you to your file, you made a typo somewhere.

Weekly Map 4 and 5

This map has a really nice interactive timeline. It has a button to enable looping, and you can just click wherever you want on the timeline to change the date displayed. It's also got a lot of options and information that's displayed very elegantly, which I like.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3007777/Britain-s-ageing-population-Interactive-map-shows-20-years-10-people-areas-85.html

This map uses a shape tween.

I don't like it at all, and that's why I chose it. There are over seven different shades of red being used alone, with even more neutral colors being used for non-Axis territory, and it's just a huge mess. You can see in the upper-left corner where the maker edited his base map in what looks like paint, because whatever he used obviously didn't have a color-matching tool.

Lab 5

Monday, March 16, 2015

Lab 4

There is a bug in this that I cannot fix, that line that comes out of the right-hand side. Despite that, I'm done.