Google Maps Extreme Design
A List Apart has an interesting though somewhat lengthy article titled Take Control of Your Maps. Paul Smith discusses the proliferation of maps in web application mashups. Paul particularly calls out Google Maps because of its popularity and ease of use by both designers and developers.
However, despite the well documented Google Maps API, he rightly complains that we all experience Google Maps fatigue from seeing different Google Map applications all with very similar design aesthetics. Of course an article that only complains about a problem and doesn’t offer a solution isn’t much good is it? Therefore, the article discusses what is called the map stack and other solutions which provide different layers of control.
The solutions offered may not be for everybody but they do at least show that there is another way to map the world.
2 Responses to “Google Maps Extreme Design”
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As a Googler who supports the Maps API, I just want to point out that it is very much possible to have a good (and different) design aesthetic when using the Maps API.
We have various interfaces (GControl, GOverlay) that one can extend to customize the appearance of controls and overlays on the map, and one can also replaced our map data with their own (via GMapType, GTileLayerOverlay).
Some other tips are in these slides:
http://docs.google.com/Presentation?id=dggjrx3s_1776mxwbpj
- pamela
Pamela, I know this is a bit, okay more than a bit, of a delayed reply but I do want to let you that I appreciate your insight into some more map features. I did realize that Google allowed you to do some custom design aesthetics but it sounds like the API allows for more than I thought. Cool presentation BTW. Thanks for the comment. I’m sure my readers will find it most useful. Keep up the great work at Google!!