Proportional circle map

I chose Europe Albers Equal Area Conic for my projection. I used a 65% opacity, but chose not to use that in my legend, I didn't like the look of the opacity in the legend but felt I needed it in order to see the country outlines and see the names. I hope that is not one of the 'important things not to do on your map'! I chose to make my legend linear with a horizontal orientation, and went from smaller to larger symbols because to me, it is the most logical way to read the legend.

Percentage change by Division

Again with this map, I feel there are obvious holes in the map space and I feel a horizontal legend would've been better suited and given the map a more even flow. Something to remember for next lab I guess!

Percentage change by state

After trying several options, I chose to go with North American Albers Equal Area Conic for my projection. I felt since we were looking at Alaska, along with the contiguous states, a N. American projection would be better suited than a Canadian or Alaska projection. I also wanted to preserve area, so the other N. American projections did not seem like good choices to me. I decided to modify my natural breaks manually to make them more equal and I also liked the idea of making them whole numbers, I felt it made them easier to read. Looking back now, I wish I had used a horizontal legend, there are some open spaces on my map that I'm unhappy with, and I feel like I could've centered the map elements better with a different legend layout. Unfortunately time just doesn't permit. I have learned a lot in Illustrator so far and I like the effects that it allows you to add to your map features.

Map Lettering Lab

Map Compostition Lab