Sunday, March 11, 2012

The Google Maps of the Week


Over the years the fashion retailer Uniqlo has created a number of unique maps. Their latest effort, Uniqlo Undercover, is possibly the best store locator map I've ever seen. In fact to call it just a store locator map is an insult really.

Using custom map tiles Uniqlo has in effect created a whole website just with the Google Maps API. My advice is to explore the map yourself. Use the menu at the top right of the map to navigate to the different sections and make sure you zoom in on the map to see each section in detail.


This Canberra Crime Statistics Map from the Australian Federal Police is a very nice looking map with some great design features.

The numbered place-name markers are attractive and dynamic (the numbers change depending on the crime or date selected). If you zoom in on the map the shaded polygon areas are also dynamic. If you mouse-over an area it grows by a fraction to help highlight the selected neighborhood.

There are a lot more great design features on this map, for example, just look at that great map sidebar.


Shoes About Town is another inspired promotional campaign, this time from New York shoe salon Bergdorf Goodman.

This promotional campaign encourages people to take an Instagram photo and then post it on Twitter with the hashtag #BGSHOES. The photos of the shoes then appear on a great looking custom map, created using the Google Maps API.

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