Google Maps projects from 'Art 122: Google Maps and Google Earth as Artistic Tools and Environments'

Blurring The Boundaries by Sara Putman

People expect clear boundaries to be present in maps, since they tell you where places are located and their restrictive border. Boundaries only keep people from seeing the world's true potential of connections, but if one challenges these preconceived boundaries, the networks of information can be revealed and recognized. However, if the viewer finds out how to work the map (move map or zoom center) then they will be provided with a clearer image. If the viewer moves or "messes up" any of the other maps, the entire map will become even more blurred and unusable. The idea of a map fading into the background further demonstrates the fading of boundaries and their restrictive nature.

Polyplay by Andrea Chase

My project plays with the idea of stripping the map of its traditional functionality. As the viewer initially views the piece the polyline overlays completely cover the map, leaving only slight transparent hints of the land beneath the colors. As the viewer zooms in the polylines dance and change their shapes erratically, thwarting all original functionality and capability of following the line from a given point to another. Further zooming transcends google earth's capabilities and strips the map of all capability for displaying the land around it, leaving only the polylines odd shapes.

Comfort Zone by Kimmie Heintz and James Rowan

Our project is based around the idea of pushing the viewer outside of their comfort zone. We ask the viewer to position the marker on the map where they feel most at home and then from there we take them on a journey to a completely different location on the globe. To take it one step further we include a YouTube video that was uploaded from within a 50-kilometer range from the location of the viewer's destination.

Are you in Time? by Lindsay Stapleton

My project gets the current location and time of the user, and shows up to 50 other places on earth where it is still the same day. With certain time zones varying from solar time up to 3 hours and because the earliest and latest time zones are 26 hours apart; any date will remain at some point on the earth for up to 50 hours. In doing so we can view time in terms of geographic locations, and look at our days as having 50 hours by seeing other places on the earth where it is still the same day.

A New Slot Machine on Google Map by Annie Leung

A New Slot Machine on Google Map is an interactive project/game. The user can first place his/ her bets on either land or ocean. Then the system will generate the google marker to land on the map randomly. If the user bet correctly, he/she can keep generating money, vice versa. At the end, when the user exits the game, he/ she will link to the score page and see how other users did in the game. The main idea of this project is to change the original aspect of Google Map, and create users a new and interesting experience when using the system.

Without Boundaries by Danusia Young

For my Google Map project I created two maps that are recognizable but in the same time much simpler then regular ones. It gave me the more simplistic look that I was looking for. I changed the colors from general white to black and green to obtain different visual effects. When playing with the zoom tool one can develop different views that are very interesting with only simple lines. Because of globalization one can see more often absence of boundaries of the world through technologies that changing and improving constantly. By simplifying my maps I tried to show that process and world that maybe in near future will be more open with out any borderlines.

Bring Me Home by Royce Chun

For this project I wanted to simply show how differently Google Maps might be utilized in creating something completely unexpected. This idea stemmed from the whack-a-mole games, which are generally found in arcades. I decided to make gopher images in honor of all the gophers in Isla Vista. The decision to be able to pick up the gophers and plot them was done order to make this project more interactive than just searching around the map.