Am I the only one getting bored with Google Maps?
I’ll admit, I was knocked-out when I first saw Gmaps-Pedometer. And I fell in love with Bikely.
But I yawned over RouteSlip. Couldn’t care less about TopoRoute. Barely noticed Wayfaring. And QuickMaps. And on and on…
Ever since Google made their Map API available, everything has started looking the same. Yes, it’s a very clean presentation. And it’s an easy way to create completely accurate information. But, after a while all that perfection starts getting old.
All it takes is one visit to Strange Maps to realize that there is another way. These maps tell a story. They subjectively report on reality. They convey the ethos of a time and place.
A recent Strange Maps entry linked to Chris Yates’ interpretive map of the Eisenhower Interstate System. This graphic experiment reminds us that a map doesn’t need to be complete and accurate. It can take a messy reality and distill it into a representation that is simpler and more beautiful. It does that by being singular of purpose. This map charts the connections of the Interstate System. That’s it. It may not be good for planning your canoe trip, but that’s not what it’s for.
“Turn-by-turn” directions for a bike trip are a similar distillation. They take the entire globe and eliminate everything you don’t need to know for a single ride. All that’s left is a list of directions:
Mile 1.0 – Bear Rt on Capitol Hill Rd.
Mile 5.2 – Picnic Tables and Convenience Store on Left
Mile 6.3 – Turn Left on Station Rd. Steep Climb.
Mile 8.2 – Scenic View on Rt
This is handy, but it doesn’t really capture the imagination. I would like to see a bicycle tour map that gives enough information to be useful, enough description to be engaging, and enough graphic design to be fun.
In my perfect world, it would also…
- Fit on a 8 ½ x 11 sheet of paper. So anyone can print it out at full size.
- Be designed in black and white for easy reproduction.
- Take no longer than a couple of hours for an amateur to create.
Have you seen anything like this yet?
Hi,
Interesting article, and thanks for adding the link, but I wonder why you have my photo headlining your article?
Al
By: Alastair Humphreys on February 27, 2007
at 7:27 am
Hi Alastair,
Primarily, I used your photo because it’s a beautiful shot. Hope you don’t mind.
I also liked the contrast between the image and the post. There is a world of difference between sprawling over a folding map in the middle of the desert and clicking Google Maps as you sit at a computer.
My goal is to invoke the feeling of a big adventure like yours, but in a small and approachable way. Just as illustrations and photographs can dramatically affect the tone of a story, I have a hunch that the right map could set the mood for a bike trip.
By: jfink on February 27, 2007
at 5:20 pm