Worcester Map, Part 1: Starting Out

     We're up to our semi-final assignment of the course! This time, we have to make a map that portrays Worcester, MA (or part of it, if we so desire) in an unconventional way. I will be working with Jack Tulloch on this task.
     Though we started discussing possible topics for this assignment right off the bat, it was surprisingly hard to come up with one that hit the trifecta of being an interesting or useful topic, being possible to complete using available information, and being achievable within the scope of this project. My first idea was to have the map highlight places of cultural importance across Worcester (such as the Worcester Art Museum), since most maps don't attempt to call attention to that type of information. This could, however, very easily have taken a large amount of time to research, especially since I personally am very unfamiliar with Worcester and both Jack and I are freshmen here at WPI. As such, we decided to shelve the idea.
     Jack suggested focusing out map on Institute Park, which is just across the street from campus. This seemed promising, and we started making plans to design a map that conveyed how the park had changed over the years. While we hadn't completely fleshed out how to do this, we were interested in superimposing different versions of the map and coloring different elements differently based on when they were added or changed. We quickly ran into a problem, though: while there are written accounts of the park's history, it seems nearly impossible to find maps of the park that are more than a couple decade old. So, we had to scrap that idea.
     We then had the idea to shift the focus to the WPI campus itself. Since it has undergone some significant revisions over the years, and we liked the idea of showing the way it's layout and buildings have changed over the years, this seemed like it could work well. However, once we started gathering maps, we realized that while it was easy to find some recent maps showing the campus before and after, their scale and top-down perspective made it hard to emphasize the major changes (like the construction of the parking garage and the ongoing building of Messenger Hall). The older map we found was also not specifically dated, which was problematic. Once again, we were back to the start.
     Fortunately, it wasn't long before we finally found an idea that we should be able to pursue. Jack suggested highlighting the best routes for new students to take to find different important locations on campus, which I felt was too narrow of a focus and wouldn't be distinct enough from normal campus maps. I suggested we expand it to show new students how to get to various useful places in the vicinity of campus, and we were able to agree on that.
     Thus, we have a plan! Our audience will be freshman at WPI, and our purpose will be to show them how to reach an assortment of useful places near campus. We have currently identified a handful of notable locations: The Boynton, Price Chopper, The Sole Proprietor, Wooberry, Bonardi's Formalwear, and the Worcester Art Museum. Jack and I plan to extend the list a bit more before finally incorporating them all onto a map. We also plan to have the paths spoke outwards from the seal in the center of WPI's quad, since that is a place that every student is familiar with.