https://arcg.is/0fb5PH0
Shown above is the main data visualization of our data. It was created on ArcGIS and has three feature layers. The first layer is that of the “Jesse James Dime Novel Locations” and is the layer with black dots. This layer is from the data we collected of the dime novels which we cleaned by separating all locations into their own cell and finding the Latitude and Longitude for each.
The second and third feature layer are actual from the same dataset being “Jesse James Real World Locations”. The data for this set was found from numerous sources detailing what Jesse James did in his life including books, PBS timelines and maps. This dataset was cleaned in a very similar way with the exception being that it was added on what Jesse James did at each location. The first of these two layers is a heat map meant to convey the area that Jesse James could have been in. The second layer is the actual points at places he went to and is colored based on why he was there.
This visualization of the data was incredibly important. It is the crux of the entire project showing the inaccuracies of the dime novels. It also shows a lot, far more then we were expecting. It is very evident to see the areas that heavily overlap and the places where the dime novels were fully inventive.
Choosing the look of this map was quite difficult. We started knowing about the colors we wanted the basemap. We wanted it to be beiges, and browns to reflect the western feel of Jesse James and the websites colors as a whole. The hard part was the heat map. ArcGIS has a fairly small list of gradients to use for heat maps and after sifting through them all we found this one to be the best. It contrasted well with the background so it was easy to notice. It was not too dark where we could not see the dime novel locations and not too bright where it strained the eyes.
2 thoughts on “Data Visualization of Jesse James Map”
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I love the concept and the look of the map. It’s intuitive and easy to understand. Being able to compare the dime novels to the real-world locations where he went shows how inflated his reputation was. Like other famous gangsters, people thought he was almost mystical in some sense — like he could go anywhere.
I really like how you considered the “cowboy” aesthetics in the way you designed the website, these little details show how much you’ve invested in the project and how you’ve considered the perspective and “story” that your data tells. Super cool!