Kelsey Yoder-Ostroski's Portfolio of Geographic Information Science

Visualizing Terrain in ArcGIS Pro Ever hear the joke about the topographic map? It was hill-arious! As stated in my last blog post, the world is not flat but traditional mapping is. So how do we go about translating 3D objects into a 2D space?  Terrain visualization is the process of representing either the physical characteristics of the terrain or phenomena occurring at that location. The goal is to provide a visual and intuitive understanding of a specific area's topography and landscape features. Frequently slope and elevation, rainfall, and landcover are recorded and symbolized in various methods. By combining recorded measurements with location and elevation, we can analyze possible patterns and make more accurate predictions.  Contour lines are lines on a map or a two-dimensional representation that connect points of equal elevation above a reference point, usually sea level. These lines help visualize the shape and relief of the land, indicating changes in elevation ac...

 The Perfect Projection Finding a solution to the persnickety problem of projections The world is not flat.  Ok, maybe you already knew that. I think we all already know that (not looking at you, flat-earthers). So, if we all already know and understand that the world is round, why is mapmaking so vexing?  The problem is: the world IS round. Maybe you've already noticed but most maps are flat. They exist on paper, on cellphones, on the GPS of our cars, and sometimes on really cool scrolls an adventure unfurls dramatically before the big battle. Until we get bigger pockets, nobody will carry around a globe for quick reference. The second problem is: the world IS NOT round. No, I am not conceding to the flat-earthers. The world is still a sphere but it's full of imperfections (aren't we all). There are mountains and oceans: gravity pulls and pushes the planet into an oblique spheroid. One of the most basic, yet most challenging, conundrum for mapmakers is to recreate the ac...

  The Importance of Typography Or why Times New Roman is so last Century Gothic Alternatively, what the Helvetica is going on with fonts?      So this is going to sound kooky, but fonts have personality. No, not fronts or fronds or fondue-- fonts. You probably remember your teacher telling you, " Only use Times New Roman or you'll never get into college! " Yes, the thing you probably can barely describe but completely surrounds you in print media. It's on your favorite bag of chips, your comfy sweater, and on the computer screen right in front of you.       Font, or typography,  is the purposefully and carefully chosen craft of choosing how words and symbols appear in print media. It conveys personality and purpose. It taps into the Jungian archetypes-- from heroic to villainous, from analytical to whimsical, and to everything in between.  "elefonts" by John Atkinson     Cartographers employ the same skills in order to communic...