How do we get a little bit of that intense detail to trickle up in a way that’s still easy to comprehend? The colors made these new natural features pop off the Map. Sujoy Banerjee, Product Management Lead, Core Maps: Around the same time, our Natural Features project was underway to bring more richness about the real world into the Map and show what an area actually looks like and feels like. If we could succeed at getting the number of colors down to a manageable number, it would make future releases much easier.Ī well-timed update took advantage of the color system updates, adding even more detail and granularity to the map. Hundreds of colors were all there for something. I’ve worked in this space for quite a long time and had a sense of the complexity. Michael Davidson, Engineering Lead, Core Maps: I’ll admit that I was pretty skeptical, but also excited by the possibilities. Last year, we were looking at forests on the Map and had the realization that we had four different colors to represent pretty much the same thing and thought: ‘If we condense those, does the Map still work?’ It was a relatively small release, but it armed us with confidence to be able to take on the grander exercise. The Google Maps team experimented with distinguishing map details, improving accessibility, and reducing the range of colors.ĭiego Perez, UX Design Manager, Google Maps: We started with a couple baby steps. In this case, that was good because I approached it like: ‘Of course we can do this! I think? Maybe!’ Exploring a new system Because the system is easier to update, it also positions our team to keep moving the brand forward.ĭana: I had just transferred to this team from Material Design and a lot of my job there was thinking about how we improve the velocity of designers and teams: How do we make something really easy to understand and use? Fresh eyes lended themselves to being a bit naive about how complex the system was. The new color system helps our users better understand the world around them, while aligning it to the Google palette sets us apart and builds brand equity. Sang Han, Creative Director, Google Maps: Legacy systems tend to have a lot of complexity so the team’s focus on simplification had myriad benefits. When I saw the inventory, I remember my jaw dropping because there were so many colors. The team started by attempting to fully understand the range of colors that had been implemented over the years. In this case, we needed to look for color patterns in the code itself. A heat map is a better fit for more qualitative analysis.The original system used one color for each detail from forest bogs to shrubs, resulting in differences so subtle that it was difficult to distinguish important elements like roads, text, and borders.ĭana Steffe, Staff Visual Designer, Google Maps: The color work started by exploring our hypothesis on whether we could reduce the palette down to a smaller number of swatches that align more closely with Material Design, while retaining all of the rich details of the Map.ĭavid Cronin, UX Director, Google Maps: One of the challenges with legacy systems is that parts of it may be undocumented. Additionally, a heat map isn’t as absolute as color coded maps. A heat map isn’t defined by set boundaries within a map. Like isopleth maps, a heat map is fabulous for contrasting and comparing density distribution within a specific area. The darker the color on the map, the higher the density overall. A heat map will measure density over a specific geographic area. Understanding the Difference Between Color Coded Maps and Heat MapsĪlthough both maps use different types of color to express varying ranges of values in your data, they serve other purposes overall. It’s important to note that color coding typically works best for distinct variations in data. Various organizations use these maps to extract insights, identify trends, or simplify large volumes of data. Most color coded maps are referred to as thematic maps. What is the Purpose of a Color Coded Map? Many types of mapping software will offer entire swatches of custom colors for any combination of colors required. Alternatively, users can assign shades of the same colors to show a margin of victor within different zoom levels. For instance, users can color differing US states blue or red based on election results for a traditional map. The color coded maps can be complex or straightforward, depending on your requirements.
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