Maps and the City

Puzzle your World Views

marleen — Sat, 18 May 2013 07:57:10 +0000

Mappy quizzes and puzzles are a great way to spend your weekend, and a very dangerous thing to get informed about just before going to bed (as I discovered yesterday evening). Figure out where you are on various Google Maps snapshots in GeoGuessr. Credits for GeoGuessr go to Anton Wallén. Make sure to check out the website, because this screenshot only give you a bit of an impression. And yes, it does give you an immediate idea of the exploration fun and you can imagine the addictiveness of this website. Go explore and enjoy!

Map Fun with Niemann

marleen — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 08:31:00 +0000

You might already know some illustrations by Christoph Niemann: he also did this great stereotype map I’ve shown earlier this year. Niemann’s great illustrations have appeared on covers of The New Yorker, Time, Wired, The New York Times Magazine and American Illustration, and he has won awards from AIGA, the Art Directors Club and The Lead Awards. Yesterday a friend of mine pointed me at these funny Google-esque maps. You should actually see them all (because almost every single one cracked me up). Abduzeedoo created a nice overview, so make sure to check them all out.

A Map of the World

marleen — Sat, 13 Apr 2013 17:10:15 +0000

Gestalten recently added a new beauty to their range of impressive map books. ‘A Map of the World’ showcases contemporary maps by designers, illustrators and mapmakers from all over the world. As the publisher states: ‘Maps help us understand and navigate the world. For centuries, maps have become better, more refined, and more precise—there are no blind spots anymore. While Google Maps and GPS systems have become our tools of choice for navigation, contemporary maps have evolved into platforms for cutting-edge illustration, experimental data visualization, and personal visual storytelling.’ Couldn’t agree more! ‘A Map of the World’ consists of a great collection of maps, varying from very personal narrative maps to accurate street plans. Full of cartographic experiments, bright colours and enough pretty maps to look at once in a while: this book will make a great addition to your book collection. Oh, and do you remember the Cosmographies by Carlos Romo Melgar I blogged about last year? He is one of the featured artists in this book!

London Subway by Susan Stockwell

marleen — Sun, 07 Apr 2013 12:48:27 +0000

Lazy sundays are perfect to flip through my collection of map books. The Map as Art is one of my favourites (and was the first gift my boyfriend ever gave me. Good thinking of the guy!). This piece by Susan Stockwell is also in it: a London Subway map of red cotton that is stitched on calligraphy rice paper. Make sure to check out her website because she creates awesome art work. Happy sunday!

London Subway by Susan Stockwell, 2007

Map Easter Egg

marleen — Thu, 28 Mar 2013 07:39:38 +0000

Getting ready for the weekend? Usually there’s a lot of eggs involved in Easter breakfasts and brunches. This decoration tip by blog Sugar and Charm certainly charmed me!

Photo credits: SugarandCharmblog.com

Game of Thrones Map (part 3)

marleen — Sat, 23 Mar 2013 14:24:19 +0000

Game of Thrones is starting its third season: as you know by my earlier posts I am a fan. Not only because the serie is very cool itself, but also because of the maps that are involved. Now, you catch up on your Game of Thrones knowledge with a very cool
infographic.

(Be careful: spoiler alert if you still have catching up to do! Well, that makes sense, but still wanted to mention it). Journey through each season of HBO’s Game Of Thrones with this interactive roadmap of Westeros. Check back every week through the new season to scroll through episode plot points as the story unfolds… And it gives you an idea of the geography of the series also. Cool stuff!
(I am only showing tiny bits of the infographic here, visit the website and scroll through to get the real deal .)

Maps of Amsterdam

marleen — Tue, 19 Mar 2013 18:06:09 +0000

You know I live in Amsterdam. A great city to live in, also because of the charming canals that give the city its beauty and historical feel. In the Stadsarchief Amsterdam, an exhibtion called Booming Amsterdam just opened. The expo is about the building of the canals in the Golden Age. In 1613, Amsterdam was growing quickly and expansion was needed to house all people living in and coming to Amsterdam.The city council decided to build city canals. Booming Amsterdam gives you a great overview of 400 years of urban development. You will find maps, architectural plans and cityscapes to tell the city’s story. And it is quite the story!

And of big importance to me: two books were also recently published: Kaarten van Amsterdam (Maps of Amsterdam), Part 1: Amsterdam from 1538-1865, Part 2: Amsterdam from 1866-2012.

Part 2 is an updated and extended version of a book published in 2002, Part 1 is completely new. I had the honour to speak with the author – Marc Hameleers- a few weeks ago and he told me the project has been a part of his life for the last 20 years. The base for these two books is a catalogue written by D’Ailly in 1934. Marc Hameleers: “A.E. d’Ailly was working at the Stadsarchief of Amsterdam (the municipal archives) and he wrote a very thorough, detailed catalogue of the maps of Amsterdam. Unfortunately not very exciting to read, but the content is impressive. Don’t forget: D’Ailly didn’t have the resources we have nowadays to research the existence and availability of maps. His research is really impressive.”

Obviously, there are some big differences between the catalogue from 1934 and these new books: D’Ailly included the maps in a chronological order of its content. This means a map from the 19th century would be found in the beginning of the overview because it presented Amsterdam in the 17th century). Hameleers decided to follow the chronology of the map itself, making the overview also useful to study the cartographical developments and focus. Another big difference: Hameleers included all different versions, fascimiles etc of one map in one catalogue number. This makes the overview the books offer much more useful and practical. The Stadsarchief Amsterdam has a huge collection of maps of Amsterdam, but research was also done in other collections worldwide to get closest to a complete overview as possible.
The result of these years of work by Hameleers? Two beautifully designed books (by Ronald Boiten and Irene Mesu) with almost 1100 images. The books are intriguing because of their massive amount of great content, super printing quality (the maps look great) and the information they provide about the development of my lovely city. A must have if you ask me!

Information about the exhibition Booming Amsterdam:
15 February – 26 of May 2013
Admission adults: 6 euros
Adress: Stadsarchief Amsterdam, Vijzelstraat 32 Amsterdam
www.boomingamsterdam2013.nl

Information about the books:
Publisher: Thoth
ISBN: 978 90 6868 620 3 (part 1) and 978 90 6868 621 0 (part 2)
Price € 69,50 (per book)

WhoWhatWear.com knows: maps are hot

marleen — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 12:58:42 +0000

Great stuff. The fashion website WhoWhatWear states today in their fashion musthaves list:

Ofcourse I couldn’t agree more. Can’t wait to get my map jacket out again.

Check WhoWhatWear’s great fashion finds here (click on the image to go to the site):

Images: whowhatwear.com

#LondonLoveMap

marleen — Thu, 14 Feb 2013 11:46:24 +0000

Mappy Valentines Day! Do you happen to be searching for the love of your life in London? This Lovemap shows where London’s most active singles are, revealing London Bridge, Bank and Oxford Circus as some of the best places to find love in London.

Some fun facts about the Lovemap:
- The top five London love spots are: London Bridge, Bank, Liverpool Street, Oxford Circus and St. Paul’s
- There’s the least chance of finding love in All Saints, Mudchute, Rectory Road, South Bermondsey or Kilburn High Road
- The Lovemap can be accessed on your mobile phone (“so singles can plan a night out on the go, based on where they’re most likely to find love”, for the pragmatic approach!)
- If you’re looking for a last-minute Valentine you can get involved by tweeting hashtag #LondonLoveMap and your location
- This Lovemap is an initiative by online dating site Lovestruck, and mobile agency Fetch.

Feel the love! (And even better: find it)

KLM Must See Map

marleen — Wed, 13 Feb 2013 11:04:03 +0000

I already know KLM (Royal Dutch Airlines) is pretty, pretty good in creating extra value for their customers. The social media activities of KLM are always spot-on. But this one is my favourite by far: the KLM Must See Map. This social media campaign enables travellers to create a city map that is customized with tips and suggestions from their friends. Ask your friends about the best restaurants and hotspots and receive your own high-quality printed city map at home. (Allow three weeks for delivery.) Oh, and it’s for free! From KLM (with some help of your friends) to you. Check it out!