Exercise Four - Andrea

My map shows a mountain biking path that stretches from Platoro, Colorado to Pie Town, New Mexico. It’s called The Great Divide.
On the first side, Map A displays half of the route – from Platoro, to Cuba, New Mexico. Map B, on the back, Cuba to Pie Town is shown. I think it was a great idea to split the map into two sections, for simplification purposes. The history of the trail, tips for travel, and general information are found in white boxes near the top left of each side. (law of proximity, alignment) The service directory is located at the bottom right. The box displaying road signs and service symbols should be in plain view, as a main focus on the map, which it isn’t. The Profile showing general elevation levels is clear and concise. It also seems to be the main thing my eye focuses on because of its dark colours and gigantic title. (Is this really the most important thing on the map?) Since they are layered on top of the map, these boxes hide much of the geographical information.
The different coloured lines that sprawl across the map confuse me. On side B, there are dotted pink lines, and a purple line that aren’t found in the legend. What do they mean? Another thing I find puzzling is the collection of brown boxes scattered all over the map. They’re highlighted to show unity, and seem to contain step-by-step instructions according to how many miles you’ve covered, but there is no way of knowing exactly what spot on the map is being talked about. There are many star symbols all over the trail that represent important points, but there are no clear corresponding numbers to match the brown-box directions to the map. Perhaps along the path there are clear road signs, but not knowing until you are actually on the trail seems a little bizarre.

the mysterious brown box - covers important parts of map, and information it contains doesn't make sense!

All in all, I think that having the map as a directional tool should be the first priority. If you want to know how you should prepare, get a guidebook. Too many boxes and too much writing makes this map crowded. There’s not enough clarity as far as paths and signs go. Realigning elements, using more colour in better ways, with more variation and contrast, and clarifying legends would have made for a more comprehensible map.