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Globes of the Earth are fascinating to look at, but they're seldom done right. Most people who make them seem to think that globes are just round maps. They're not. Globes are meant to awe. They should be big enough to firm up the idea of planetary volume and the wonders of physics on a grand scale. They're meant to evoke mystery and to provoke philosophical questions. Globes should never contain writing or be brightly colored, or contain distracting details like clouds. They should be dark (but not black) and brooding like the one above. They should be understated. |
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Maps are different. They're for telling you the location and relative distance of places. A good map contains something startling, something that forces you to wake up and see the subject in a different light, like the raised map above. My favorite maps are of distant places that I'll probably never see. |
7 comments:
The new design is totally screwed up, the margins cover the content.
I wish globes were like that.
Wah! Can't read it when it overflows into the margins, Uncle E.
Anonymous is right.
But more to the point, I love maps and globes too! I love looking at them and learning all the features. I especially like old maps of places that I know. It's fun to see how things changed: where roads ran that are gone and roads that are still there, and the places that used to be important that are now all but forgotten.
I also like maps that tell a story, show where someone explored or the route they took
I meant to give you this link too: http://strangemaps.wordpress.com/
also http://bibliodyssey.blogspot.com/ frequently shows old maps but even when they don't there's some wonderfully interesting stuff there.
The globe that I used to have looked just like that map of Russia, even right down to those textures and raised mountains. Too bad I have no idea what happened to it. I haven't seen it years.
Glad someone loves maps and globes just as much as I do.
Anon, Anon, Bob: About the margins covering the content: that's deliberate. I get ideas from doing that.
I kind of like the way that pictures overlap. It only bothers me when texts do it. I have a few options for easing that problem. I'll try them all and see what works best.
As new posts come in the old posts are pushed down, there are spots when even the largest picture is completely visible, with no overlap.
I guess I tolerate the text overlapping on pictures because magazines do that all the time, and I like the look. Of course they never have text interfere with text. Please trust me. I'm working on this problem, I just haven't come up with the right solution yet.
Bob: Strange Maps is a terrific site! I've posted about it a couple of times. Bibliodysseye is a new name for me. I'll look it up. Thanks!
National Geographic used to publish some decent historical maps. I wonder if they still do.
Roberto: You can buy raised maps on the net. I bought one once and was amazed to find two maps in the box. They clung together so tight that the mailer couldn't seperate them, so he sent me two for the price of one.
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