Design a simple map infographic

Inspiration, Tools, and Sketches

Browse through the data
For the class project, you will pick 1 of 5 sets of data, all dealing with the subject of Hurricanes that have made US landfall between 1851-2012. We've posted the data sets below that we'd like you to use as your main source material, and have suggestions for extra reading/material if you'd like to include anything extra to your map.

Please do not get intimidated with the amount of data in each file! You will get a good overview of how to proceed in the video.
Choose your data
- The mapping of every hurricane between 1851-2012. Suggested map strategies: mapping trajectories, highlighting most hit regions). Download the "Option 1" file below.
- Intensity information of all recorded hurricanes (icon based city highlighting, picking the 5-10 most intense & mapping their landfall points, comparing the number of hurricanes in each category). Download the "Option 2 a" and "Option 2 b" files below.
- Monetary damage of hurricanes (highlighting regions hardest hit, picking top few hurricanes and mapping their impact dollar-wise). Download the file here.
- Yearly averages of hurricanes (a trajectory map of the most frequently hit areas). Download the "Option 4" file below.
- Most deadly hurricanes (focus on by cities–can create a choropleth, focus on worst years–can create a chart with regional highlights of worst-hit areas.). Download the "Option 5" file below.
Find your story
Give it a title, set the tone. We went with funny and witty - the most destructive lady hurricanes of all time... Highlight your data in the PDF you have so you can pull it out easily.
Lay out the data
See how it takes shape once you've plotted the data onto your vector map.
Sketch your infographic
Once you've completed step 4 (laying out your data) share an image of what your bare bones infographic looks like! Start to think about layout, but don't get caught up in making it pretty just yet. We'll tackle that in the next lesson.

Bringing Sketches to Life

Create a visual story
The next step in bringing your initial sketches to life is to give the map a visual story. For this round, you should have strong ideas of:
- layout type choices
- color scheme
- iconography
- and other elements that you'd like to use in your final map

Visual Design

Share your final project
Submit your final project for feedback. Be sure to give others feedback too.

Additional Resources

Download this PDF of higher res images that we talk about in the video.
Download this PDF of higher res images that we talk about in the video.
Vector World Map website.

Julia Reich

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