Near the end of this week’s reading, and the quarter’s, we
find out about the modern era of graphic design and the interactive media
available on computers. Interactive media has many benefits. With its ever
changing and adaptable graphics capabilities, and keyboard and mouse controls,
the computer allows information to be distributed in a nonlinear fashion.
Unlike its predecessors like books and other printed media, the content of
digital and interactive media can be easily updated to rapidly accommodate
changes in the information. This is all very beneficial when it comes to my
area of graphic design expertise, maps. Printed maps allow very little
interaction with the limited data that are printed on them originally and are
very energy consuming when it comes to updating the data they display. There are
many kinds of interactive maps out there now that not only allow the user a to
have a comprehensive learning experience, but also are very easy to keep up to
date. I will introduce a few below and explain myself more thoroughly.
We
are all familiar with a map used for navigation such as Google and Bing maps,
and the original MapQuest, which have revolutionized getting directions to a restaurant
or a friend’s party. I want talk about thematic maps though and how interactivity
allows a better learning experience. We are probably all familiar with the
recent election and viewing results on a map. The example below (top) from http://www.270towin.com/ allows the user to
change the results by clicking on a state. Other online election maps allow you
to click states and get even more in-depth statistic about the outcome (just
search for election maps and you’ll find a million of them). These are examples
of basic thematic maps, which display spatial data (election results by state).
Another example below (bottom) is from (http://education.nationalgeographic.com/education/mapping/interactive-map/?ar_a=1
) National Geographic. This website will allow the user to add different data
to view in the map by clicking check boxes in the various categories to the
left. I have displayed climate data for winter months, but there is much more
like population and natural disasters to choose from—I encourage you all to check this one out.
Interactive maps can be very fun and informative for
children especially. It’s like a little game they can learn from. This map of
the Atlanta Zoo (http://play.vta.com/Zoo_Atlanta/Zoo_Atlanta_Map.htm)
is not only very colorful and appealing but if you hover over the various
animal exhibits a pop-up window displays information about the animals (below,
bottom). You can also click the “Add it to my map” link in the window and an itinerary
will be generated to help you plan your busy day at the zoo—ingenious!
Another thematic map some of you might be used to is a
weather map, which helps viewer visualize actual rain, snow and wind patterns
spatially. The weather person on television has been using these for decades,
but now anyone with the internet can access them. This example below form the
Weather Channel’s website (http://www.weather.com/weather/map/interactive/USCA0993:1),
although just a static image, is an animated weather map. The user can pan or zoom
to any location, click play and watch as the weather systems change. The data
is constantly updated via broadband using various weather stations around the
world, so the information is current no matter what time you’re viewing it. Something to note about the map is that it uses Bing maps
as the base and interface functions, so the Weather Channel did not need to develop
their own. Being able to access and embed these basic interactive map functions
in any website is becoming increasingly available through major internet
mapping companies. Businesses can now overlay their own data on these already
made maps saving time and money but still utilizing this innovative graphic technology.
Probably the most familiar case of this would be Yelp and being find the
business or restaurants rated on their site through an embedded Google Map.
