Map Design

Map Design

I started out drawing all of the paths and the buildings in Photoshop, and I layered them with the base area. I also added the Astroturfs and the parking spaces, and I tried to keep to my colour scheme but found it a bit difficult to make it legible. Because it is mostly only greens and blues, it made the map just blend together and nothing really stood out.

I Googled some existing maps for ideas on how to solve my colouring problem, and I found this map of the Oxford city centre. It uses green as the base, but instead of blue as I had tried, the buildings are a dark gray. I tried it out on my own map and it instantly made it better.

I added the University Mile as a red dashed line, and the star for where you are, and the yellow dots for the biodiversity areas. I, however, found the dashed line to be too much and corrected it with rectangles instead of squares.

The dashed line is now more subtle but on a board, it should be clear and visible. I also added the key to the map, and I have to say, I am very proud of my creation.