Description
"What a useful thing a pocket-map is!" I remarked.
"That's another thing we've learned from your Nation," said Mein Herr, "map-making. But we've carried it much further than you. What do you consider the largest map that would be really useful?"
"About six inches to the mile."
"Only six inches!" exclaimed Mein Herr. "We very soon got to six yards to the mile. Then we tried a hundred yards to the mile. And then came the grandest idea of all ! We actually made a map of the country, on the scale of a mile to the mile!"
"Have you used it much?" I enquired.
"It has never been spread out, yet," said Mein Herr: "the farmers objected: they said it would cover the whole country, and shut out the sunlight ! So we now use the country itself, as its own map, and I assure you it does nearly as well."
from Lewis Carroll, Sylvie and Bruno Concluded, Chapter XI, London, 1895
In this short excerpt from Lewis Carroll 1895 book, which draws on Borges On Exactitude in Science (1658), there is a gem of an idea that offers us a lens to think about the usefulness of maps, and how we can design them to help build audiences understanding of the world. In this talk Alan Hook, Associate Head of School for Ulster University, will present ideas of Data Storytelling and how maps can be used in interesting ways to communicate meaning to audiences. Drawing on Media, Communication and Cultural Studies the presentation will challenge designers to think about their process, what their maps ‘say’ and how their data visualisation can be used to pose arguments about how the world is, could or should be.
| Period | 20 Nov 2020 |
|---|---|
| Held at | Chartered Institution of Civil Engineering Surveyors, United Kingdom |
| Degree of Recognition | National |