Do you imagine that the North is depicted as “up” on a world map? Do you know if Greenland is really larger than Australia? Is “Western civilization” actually in the West? How do you actually depict the shipping route from Asia through the Arctic to Europe?

A team from the Faculty of Philosophy and History at the University of Bern and the Bern University of Applied Sciences, Department of Art and Design, presents a fascinating exploration of perspective, map projections, geographic location, color, and context to users of the Worldmapgenerator and invites them to find their own creative answers to the questions posed.

The portal is well worth a visit. The creative tinkering is fun, and the results can be saved or shared on social media.

Fig.: “Worldmapgenerator,” J. M. Stirnemann et al., 2014