Nice Cartography Tool

This week the Iowa GIS Service Bureau was able to help out with a few maps that needed updating.  Among the many ways the Service Bureau tries to promote GIS, sometimes we make maps for government groups that do not have a way to make their own.

But as we all know, it is a lot easier to make an ugly map than an attractive map.  To help with map aesthetics a very handy website called Colorbrewer provides cartography coloring options.

The site offers different coloring options for data that require sequential color schemes, diverging colors, or categorical representation.

You can even choose colors based on the use.  Some colors print to paper well, but might not work projected to a screen.  So if you have an upcoming meeting or conference, you can make sure your maps will properly communicate your message. 

 It has proven useful on occasion and is worth checking out.