Erstellt am: 27. 5. 2015 - 16:05 Uhr
Today's Webtip: The world in 1491
I have always been amazed out how or powers of visualisation change the way we experience the world. Based on my experience as a graphic designer, it is also with a skill or talent that isn't equally distributed amongst the populace.
Thats one of the reasons TV can be such a powerful medium. It helps people visualise aspects of the world that they never would have experienced otherwise.
Of course, books and illustrations can do the same. But reading comprehension is another one of those shaky skill-sets (judging by internet comments) and illustrations can require more background knowledge in order to parse them correctly.
Now, imagine you are living at a time when the knowledge used to create those illustrations was being collected. Or better yet, imagine you were one of those people about to collect a huge chunk of new knowledge that would forever change future illustrations.
Or, in the case of Columbus and today's webtip, maps.
The Smithsonian magazine has an article up about a map, it's texts, and the process used to decipher them. The image itself might very well be the way Columbus visualised the world as he set off on his voyage.