For anyone who wants to see their place in the universe, there is hardly a better way to get perspective than taking a look at the stars. With head lofted towards the sky we see a multitude of worlds so distant that the light originated eons before our birth. These star maps from Stellavie Design Manufaktur are perhaps the most lovely we’ve seen, providing us with both attractive detailing and meaningful content… the perfect inspiration for becoming more familiar with our night sky. [Read more...]
7 Shocking Google Earth GIFs of Human Impact on Earth
There’s no doubt about it, humans have reshaped the earth more in the last two hundred years than at any other time in our history… and the last 25 years are no different. Now Google has released a new “interactive map experience” which allows users to view archived satellite data over the last quarter century and in doing so they are giving us perhaps the most clear and valuable view of our recent impact on earth. “We believe this is the most comprehensive picture of our changing planet ever made available to the public,” Google said in a statement [Read more...]
An Interactive Map of North American English Dialects
Because of the massive popularity of Hollywood movies, most people in the world (including Americans) assume that people in the US all sound like they’re from California, and in particular Southern California. This intensely detailed map created by linguist Rick Aschmann in his free time, tracks the highly diverse dialects in North American English, from the soothing drawl of the American South, to the broad-A’s of Boston. To back up his many examples, Aschmann’s large map is interactive, allowing users to click on locations to see Youtube videos or listen to audio samples featuring people speaking. [Read more...]
Eclectic Remixed Movie Posters by Latvian Artist
Latvian illustrator Harijs Grundmanis has created his own artistic niche, using a unique surreal style that reinvents or creates alternative imagery for film posters. His distinctive style grants the observer with a tantalizing vision of each particularly famous movie. [Read more...]
Vintage Panorama Honors NYC Historic Landmarks
For people who haven’t visited, the Queens Museum of Art houses one of the most fantastic treasures of New York City… at least for the map obsessed. Their “crowning jewel” is the Panorama of the City of New York, a massive (no, behemoth!) model of the city built for the 1964 World’s Fair that covers a staggering 9,335 square feet (867 sq meters). The model includes every single building constructed before 1992 in all five boroughs, encompassing 895,000 individual structures. Now this historic map is being used to highlight the cities landmark historic districts and encourage preservation in a city known for its vibrant history. [Read more...]
How Fast the US Became Obese: Animated Map
It’s no secret that the US has a weight problem, but do you know how fast the country got fat? I’ll be honest, when I first saw this map animated by The Atlantic, my jaw literally dropped when it reached the 2000s… many states explode from around 20% obesity to over 30%. In just my lifetime (I was born in 1980) the whole US has gone from a relatively thin country to a place where the norm in many areas is to be overweight to obese. [Read more...]
Schematic Posters for Your Favorite Retro Electronics
It would be hard to get any more retro-nerd-cool than this. If you can identify any of these wiring schematics (without reading further) you score 200,000 points, with a 16x multiplier for every extra ID. You’re looking at the inner workings of some of the most revered personal computing and gaming consoles from the rise of the electronics era – from the Apple I and Commodore 64, to the Atari 2600 and Nintendo. Each two-tone print from City Prints celebrates the inner workings of the devices that have come to enhance and even dominate our society – and they do it with style. [Read more...]
Water Map: A Flat Wood Sink Modeled After London
Seemingly flat sinks are hot these days, with many designs being produced that have little or no conventional basin. For many people, that’s not too much of a problem – most of our water splashing happens in the shower anyway. Now Julia Kononenko, a designer from Kharkiv, Ukraine, has taken the flat sink concept in a new direction, creating a laminated wood block featuring a pattern of channels modeled after the streets of central London. When used, the (presumably slow flowing) water enters the channels and subtly travels to a drain hidden in the back. [Read more...]
Two Superb, Hand-Drawn Maps of London
When I visited Rome last summer I picked up a free, hand-drawn map of the city. To be honest I wasn’t expecting much, but when I started navigating using the small map, I was astounded at the detail it contained in each hand-drawn line. To be finding my way around the ancient city using only someone’s fine penmanship was like stepping back into the bygone era of hand-made cartography. Today we have Google Maps. It’s a tool which blows away any hand-created map as far as accuracy and search-ability, but something is certainly lost in the aesthetic beauty and ability to roll out a large city on the table before you. These fine maps of London from Wellingtons Travel, bring back the maps of old and do it with useful style. [Read more...]
London Underground Posters at the Transport Museum
The iconic London Underground is celebrating its 150th year of operation this year. The “Tube,” which opened all the way back in 1863, still serves the city with trains packed to capacity at rush hours, shuttling people to places both central and more remote. Almost as famous as the trains themselves is the design that has sprung up alongside the long running system – so to celebrate the anniversary, the London Transport Museum is showcasing 150 Underground posters from the past. [Read more...]















