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This proposal looks beautiful, but a minor point stuck out for me. Putting large maps on the ceiling sounds like a terrible UX that will confuse people more tha
by rspeer 10y ago
This proposal looks beautiful, but a minor point stuck out for me. Putting large maps on the ceiling sounds like a terrible UX that will confuse people more than orient them.
You'll end up with one axis that corresponds to actual directions in the real world, while its perpendicular axis is exactly the opposite. If the "north" and "south" ends of the map are actually to the north and south, for example, east and west will be on the wrong sides.
If you put all four compass directions in their real-world locations, then the entire map is mirrored when seen from below. Maybe this rat's-eye-view of New York would be appropriate, but it would also be deeply unfamiliar and look like an enormous mistake.
There's a really good convention for public maps that are standing up on a sign (left and right correspond to what's to your left and right in the real world, and up corresponds to what's ahead of you), and there's a completely obvious convention for maps on the floor. There's no sensible convention for ceiling maps.
- RockyMcNuts 10y agoThe Grand Central ceiling star map is reversed, maybe they should do the same in homage https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Central_Terminal#Ceiling https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Central_Terminal#Ceiling
- rspeer 10y agoHuh. That just sounds like an unnecessary mistake, as a star map is the one kind of map that makes perfect intuitive sense on the ceiling (and its directionality is less intuitive on a piece of paper or a screen). (I could have added that if anyone would understand why a ceiling map of NYC should be mirrored, it would be people who are familiar with star maps or people who play Kerbal Space Program.)
- fumplethumb 10y agoI think the map is for aesthetics, not utility. But point taken.
- coleca 10y agoSounds like a great way to get pickpocketed. Lots of disoriented travellers staring up at the ceiling. Then again, maybe it's no different from everyone staring at their phones ignoring the world around them.