PrettyMaps
Prettymaps is an interactive map composed of multiple freely available, community-generated data sources, designed to push the limits of modern browsers and the aesthetic boundaries of traditional cartography.
Prettymaps are available as limited edition prints from 20x200. All proceeds from sale of the prints directly benefit the Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team.
View Project
Manhattan:
Toronto:
Beijing:
Berlin:
Washington, DC:
Dublin:
Hong Kong:
Houston:
Tokyo:
This version (August 2010) of prettymaps is coded-named Isola
after
the Finnish textile
designer Maija
Isola. At a time when the tools for making custom maps and bespoke cartographies are becoming easier and more accessible it
is nice to look back at her work and imagine the maps she
might have made if she were alive today.
Isola is also a fictional city in the novels of the writer Ed McBain:
The town, Isola, in which these novels were set, was unmistakably New York. Since it did not declare itself as the Big Apple, it was not open to McBain to rely merely on a recital of the city's famous precincts, parks and landmarks to give his background authenticity. Isola lived, triumphantly in its own right, alongside New York but not simply mimicking it.
Which is a healthy way to think about maps in general.
The project has been turned into a lovely mosaic which graces the table in our conference room:
Map tiles / being rendered
Tiley maps!
Oranges: