Poster Layout Makeover

Map poster redesign

This tutorial will walk your through the evaluation of an already built map poster layout identifying and correcting common design mistakes that can effect the overall look and feel of your map.

Download Module 2

Click the icon to download the workshop data packets. Copy the zipped folder to your HD and right click to unzip.

Open the map project and print layout

From the downloaded tutorial data, open the Module 2 folder, double click to open the YosemiteRockfalls project.
In the main menu bar of the YosemtiteRockfalls project, find the Layout Manager icon and click to open.
Double click the Rockfall Poster 11x17 layout to open it.

Note: you can create multiple layouts for a single map project, each with it's own set of actives layers and layout dimensions. This is useful when needing to produce maps of the same project for different media or formats.

Layout review

With the core concepts of legibility and visual hierarchy in mind, lets review some of the issues with this layout.

Full color basemap conflicts with other map elements.
Too many boxes and frames create clutter and waste layout space.
Spacing between layout elements is uneven.
Items like N arrows and scale bars are overly ornate and detailed.
Title is generic and takes up too much space, no visual hierarchy.
Unnecessary text over map that is unlikely to be read.
POI list is out of context from locations in the map.
Legend is generic and technical.

Update the basemap

Default basemaps are great for quick location finding, but make terrible publication maps. The detail and bright colors often conflict with our data and create flat visual hirarchy.

Return to the GIS window (leave layout window open) and restyle the main map elements.

Right click to remove the OSM Standard basemap.
Turn on the YosemiteValleySR background image.

Make a custom color ramp

There's nothing objectively wrong with the current hex symbol colors but it can be beneficial to know how to customize your colors to suit the theme of your layout, in this case we're going for an overall natural feel.

Open the Layer Styling menu for the YosRockfall hex layer.
In the Color ramp drop down menu, select Create New Color Ramp...
Set color ramp type to Gradient.
In the window that opens, set Color 1 to the HTML color code #c4c8a4, click OK.
Set Color 2 to the HTML color code #242006, click OK.
Make sure the hex layer is set to 5 Classes in Natural Breaks.

Add layer effects

There are a number of different effects in the Draw effects menu. We'll add a Drop Shadow to help lift our rock fall symbols off the basemap and reinfoirce our visual hirarchy.

In the Layer Styling panel open the Layer Rendering settings.
Change the layer Opacity to 70%.
Click the checkbox for Draw effects and then click on the star icon to the right to open the Draw effects menu.
Check the box for Drop shadow, click the back arrow.

Rebuild the poster layout

Return to the Layout window (or create a new 11x17 layout).
Add a new 11x17 Map Frame.
In the Map 1 Items Properties set the Scale value to 55000.
Switch to the Move item content tool and pan the map to center the hex layer in your layout (see example).

Add an edge fade effect

Rather than add in the typical map frames or neatlines, lets try a subtle fade to white margin.

Select the Add Shape > Add Rectangle tool from the icons on the left.
Click in the map to open the rectangle properties, set size to 11x17 and XY location to 0,0.
In the rectangle Item Properties menu, click on the Style box to open settings for the new rectangle.
Click on Simple Fill to open advanced settings.
Click on the Symbol layer type drop down and select Starburst Fill.
Select the 2nd (lower) white color bar under Gradient Colors > Two color and set Opacity to 0%.
Change the Shading Style to use a Set distance of 50 mm.
Click the back arrow.

Add a title

From the tool icon menu on the left, select the Add label tool.
Click and drag a small box in the upper left corner of the layout.
In the Item Properties panel copy and paste the text "Historic Yosemite Valley Rockfalls" into the lorum ipsum text box.
Under the Appearance menu click the Font button.
Select Arial Black as the Font, and set the Size to 24 pts.
Click back.
Add a second text for a sub-title under the main title.
Paste in "The Changing Face of Yosemite Valley".
Set the Font to Arial, 24 pts.
Click in the Color panel and change the color from full black to medium gray (40% V in the HSV sliders).
Resize both text boxes to display the full text if there is any clipping.
Select both boxes together then use the Align Selected Items to Left tool to line up the text blocks.
Finally with both boxes selected, right click and select Group to create a single title object.
Use the mouse or arrow keys to nudge the title around so it is evenly spaced off the upper left corner.

Add a legend

Select the Add Legend item tool.
Click and drag a box for the new legend in the lower right corner of the map (ignore the legends size for now).
In the Item Properties panel find the Legend Items window and uncheck Auto update.
From the Legend Items list select each layer (except for YosRockfalls500kHex) and remove them form the list (red minus icon under the list).
Double click the YosRockfalls500kHex layer name to open Legend item Properties.
Change the name to "Rockfalls 1857-2024".
Click back.
Under Fonts change the Subgroup Headings to bold.
Move and resize the legend to fit.
Uncheck the Background property.
Under the Spacing property, increase the General > Box spacing to 4mm or 5mm (increases the size of the legend footprint).

Make a custom hex legend symbol

In the legend Item Properties panel, double click the Rockfalls layer name in the Legend Items list.
Under the Patch property, click the Shape color symbol bar.
In the Shape window enter the patch geometry below for a flat top hex polygon.
Flat top hex: POLYGON ((10 0, 5 -8.66, -5 -8.66, -10 0, -5 8.66, 5 8.66, 10 0))
Click back, then modify the Patch dimensions to Width 8mm and Height 7mm.

Add call out text

From the tool icon menu on the left, select the Add label tool.
Click and drag a small box near one of the three clusters of highest hex values (see map sample below for specific text locations).
Copy the text from one of the three POI text samples below and paste it into the lorum ipsum window under the Item Properties for the new text box.
Increase the font size to 14 or larger.
Use the Add Arrow tool to add call out lines or arrows.

1987 Middle Brother: The biggest recorded rockfall event sent 1.5 million tons of rock to the base of the Three Brothers, covering Northside Drive.
1996 Happy Isles: A massive rockfall of 162,000 to 180,000 tons of rock from Glacier Point that caused a 240 mph airblast, killing one person and uprooting over 1,000 trees.
2017 El Capitan: A series of rockfalls from the "Waterfall" area of El Capitan, with one event involving over 1,000 cubic meters, resulting in multiple fatalities.

Add a locator map

Find the Layers options under the Item Properties for the Map 1 frame in your layout.
Check the box for Lock Layers.
Then check the box for Lock styles for layers.

This freezes the map content as a snapshot of the GIS. Any further changes you make to tge main GIS map will not be automatically updated here. You can use this function to preserve the styles in your main map while going back into the GIS to chanage the layers for a second map frame (for an inset or locator map for instance).

Go back to the GIS window and turn off all layers,
Turn on the CA_albers layer.
Right click CA_albers and select Zoom to Layer.
Return to the Layout window.
Select the Add Map tool and click to drag a small box for the new locator map next to the title.
In the Item Properties for the new locator map frame, uncheck the Background box.
Re position the Title and Locator items so the CA locator appears to the left of the title.
**Turn on the map extent option**

Add a "call to action" image

Rather than paste text directly into a map poster, use QR codes and other call to action links to allow the map reader to find more information online if desireed. This QR code link takes you to the NPS Yosemite Valley rockfall information website.

Open your project data folder and find the qrcode.png file.
Drag the QR code into your layout.
Resize and move the image to the upper right corner.

Page updated

Report abuse