The GIS specialist in our example application can use the concepts above to create a cogent and logical display of the proposed highway. Let's examine the choices she made:

• Using different types of linework, her display included all of the political boundaries in the area. She left them highly detailed, particularly in the immediate vicinity of the planned highway corridor, knowing that townships, counties, and other political divisions are important in policymaking decisions of this kind.
• Land-use, nominal-level data, was represented with area fills of different hues. The hues were of similar lightness – light shades of each hue that would not visually dominate the display but that were easily discernable.
• Wildlife and other protected lands were indicated by the overlay of a pattern fill.
• Road and hydrology data was carefully selected to illustrate only those segments that would be directly affected by the construction of the highway. The visual emphasis of the display is on the detailed area.
• The color of the buildings indicates whether they lie in the right-of-way for the new highway, indicated by a green dashed line. Their shape indicates the building type.
• The location of the highway itself is indicated by a high-contrast solid green line.
• The survey results, which are aggregated to township level, are shown in a separate choropleth map with an ordered lightness difference indicating the respondents' sentiment.