(via Andrew Wooster)
I first started using an iPhone around the time I started spending a lot of time wandering around New York City, so consequently I’ve gotten a lot of experience using its Google Maps application for finding my way in unfamiliar territory. While I would say its mere existence definitely revolutionized the way I discovered one of the world’s great cities, I would also say that, in many ways, it is a long way from living up to its potential.
One of those ways is definitely in the area of route finding, an area where I think Apple’s designers could learn a thing or two from Joonhwan Lee’s research project, MOVE (Maps Optimized for Vehicular Environments). In much the same way that Harry Beck’s famed London Underground map simplifies the user’s wayfinding experience by presenting a stripped-down, abstract rendition of a city map, MOVE removes extraneous geographic details, and concentrates detail only in the part of the route the user is currently traversing.
MOVE is primarily aimed at car navigation systems, but it would be interesting to contemplate how a similar system for people on foot would be designed.