The typography lab of Module 2 had us focusing on creating a simple map and labeling that map using cartographic principles as they relate to typography.  We started by downloading a counties map of Florida into ArcGIS Pro and sending that to the web.  We then integrated our web map into Adobe Illustrator and subsequently used that software package to color and label the map.  I used the draw, text box, symbol creator, and box tools primarily for the creation of this map. This experience with Illustrator has made me excited to expand upon the tools available and create better maps in the future.

Three modifications I mad to the map are:

1) I made a border around the islands.  Primarily because I thought it looked interesting.  I actually wanted to create a sort of halo, but was not having very much success as this is my first time using illustrator.

       2) I added symbols for the airport and the State Park. I wanted to find a simple way to add symbols that seemed coherent to the task at hand.  I found some simple symbols that helped me achieve my goals and provided additional visual aids. 

          3) I changed the background color to blue to represent water and the island color to green to represent land.  Rather simple things, but as I get better with illustrator I believe I will be able to increase the complexity and beauty of my maps.

My initial impressions with Illustrator are that it allows endless possibilities for customization and the ability to be extremely detailed with maps.  It also feels like a tool that was made for drawing and is being applied to maps as opposed to a map making tool that allows you to draw.  When compared to ArcGIS Pro, the map making is much more cumbersome and less intuitive in general.  The scale bar, for instance, is a plug and play tool in ArcGIS, but in Illustrator it is manually drawn without automatic scale resizing.  One couldn't help but wonder how this was helpful in drawing maps, other than it allows you to get as creative with the scale bar as you would like to. The tools available in ArcGIS and the simplicity with which one can access them makes it obvious that ArcGIS is geared more toward making maps and less toward creative illustrations.  I think the experienced Illustrator user would be able to utilize more options with ease and create nice looking maps exclusively in Illustrator.  But for general map making in a world that demands a combination of efficiency and beauty, Illustrator seems to be several steps behind ArcGIS.  The power is there, however, to create detailed and beautiful maps.