2012-01-27
post/16591068970
Twelve 506 page volumes printed-on-demand, representing a scale model of our solar systemfrom the Sun to Pluto, by UK-based artist Mishka Henner.
It’s worth clicking through to see the interior pages, too. (via slavin).
2010-01-30
post/361872887
Travel time radius from Bond Street Station, as shown on the Legible London maps.
Slippy Maps and Scale
I have a problem with slippy maps, especially as used in the iPhone’s Maps app. They have no sense of scale.
Admittedly, this isn’t entirely true for the web’s version of Google Maps: there’s a small ruler in the bottom left, giving some idea of distance. However, Open Streetmap’s default renderer is missing such a feature, as is the aforementioned iPhone interface.
You might not think this is a big deal. After all, the London A-Z doesn’t have a distance scale on every page, but using it for a little while leaves you with a good feeling for distance. For me, it takes about five minutes to walk across a grid square. The difference, of course, is that the A-Z’s scale (or, if you prefer, zoom level) is fixed.
In contrast, I can’t tell, when I open an iPhone map view, whether the screen is encompassing a five minute, fifteen, or fifty minute walk. The sheer fluidity of the UI leads to one of its own biggest drawbacks.
Is there a solution? Well, it’s possible to ask for directions, but this is a bit fiddly, and when the connection is slow, looking up an address and the route can be annoying. I’d prefer to be able to overlay a circle with a rough time estimate, as the Legible London maps do. (If the speed was slightly configurable, that could be useful for drivers as well.) Alternatively, if the user was searching for, say, the nearest Wagamama, an alternative list view (as opposed to a bunch of red pushpins) could allow ordering results by distance (or even, ideally, travel time).
On the other hand, maybe I’m just too damned picky.
