4
41latitude
41latitude.com · Personal blog · on HN since 2010
41latitude was a blog on cartographic design, analyzing how Google, Bing, and Yahoo maps handle labels and styling.
What HN saysHN commenters praise its Google Maps label readability posts as excellent, and regret that the author later took them down after joining Apple.
19HN people shared it
9linked it in comments
36stories submitted
1.4Kstory points
8 years agolast shared
2010people per year2026
Most-shared posts
- 1Google Maps, Bing Maps, & Yahoo Maps: Cartographic Design Differences4 people · 95 points · first shared 2010 · 30 comments on HN
- 2Why Do Google Maps’s City Labels Seem So Readable?3 people · 687 points · first shared 2010 · 104 comments on HN
- 3Google Maps & Label Readability, Part 22 people · 5 points · first shared 2010 · discussion on HN
- 4Homepage2 people · first shared 2012
- 5Styled Maps Using Google Maps API Version 31 people · 149 points · first shared 2010 · 25 comments on HN
- 6Google Doesn't Want to Lead You Down Any Dead Ends1 people · 93 points · first shared 2011 · 36 comments on HN
- 7Google Maps & Label Readability - Part 31 people · 56 points · first shared 2011 · 15 comments on HN
- 8Thoughts on Google's "Terrain" maps1 people · 45 points · first shared 2010 · 18 comments on HN
- 9Did Google Maps's "consistency" help it climb to #1 in maps?1 people · 38 points · first shared 2010 · 27 comments on HN
- 10Google Map Mashups are About to Get a Lot Better1 people · 35 points · first shared 2010 · 6 comments on HN
- 11Ever Notice How Often the Cities on Google Maps Change?1 people · 34 points · first shared 2010 · 14 comments on HN
- 12My Favorite Thing About the iPad: No Writing/Logo/Other Crap on the Bezel1 people · 28 points · first shared 2010 · 23 comments on HN
- 13Google Maps: Which Highway is Which?1 people · 21 points · first shared 2010 · 9 comments on HN
- 14No, You're Not Crazy--The Cities on Google Maps Keep Changing1 people · 18 points · first shared 2010 · 10 comments on HN
- 15Google Maps/Yahoo Maps: Why Aren't NYC & Wash., DC on the Default Map?1 people · 17 points · first shared 2010 · 22 comments on HN
What HN people wrote when they linked it
NelsonMinar · 2018-11-01
He wrote many more excellent articles before he worked at Apple, all posted to https://www.41latitude.com/
Sadly he took them down, disappeared into the memory hole the way so many Apple employee's work has a way of doing. I'm glad he's out and writing in public again.
jeromeflipo · 2012-09-25
Is there any difference between those two maps? It seems that all Apple's POIs are on Google Maps, except with bigger font and symbols. Also, the Apple Maps screenshot shows a maps that is more zoomed in.
It also looks like Apple shows the local translations of the roads and POIs names - contrary to Google Maps, but this difference could be from the language preference of the app or OS?
Seriously, who would make a judgment based on those mere screenshots?
I wish http://41latitude.com was back online. It had the best maps comparisons every published, but Justin O'Beirne closed it when he joined Apple's Maps team few years ago.
lekanwang · 2012-09-21
There was an amazing blog post (http://41latitude.com/post/2072504768/google-maps-label-read...) on 41Latitude when it still around about the absolute thing of beauty and art that is the labeling and visual design of Google Maps that enable it to have extremely high data density, while maintaining perhaps the best readability of any of the interactive maps out there. Correctness is the most glaring issue, but it's far, far more that sets Google apart from what Apple launched in their maps application.
EDIT: Here is an archived version found elsewhere: http://www.allhatter.com/showthread.php/13017-Google-Maps-amp-Label-Re…
natchexz · 2011-04-20
This is an even better example: http://www.41latitude.com/post/2072504768/google-maps-label-readabilit…
bostonvaulter2 · 2011-04-20
The design of the map for Google Maps is pretty nice.
http://www.41latitude.com/post/557224600/map-comparison
olalonde · 2010-12-16
Same for Montreal. All the small towns around are shown much earlier.
There's a good analysis here on what makes Google Maps look better than the competition: http://www.41latitude.com/post/2072504768/google-maps-label-readabilit…
zazi · 2010-12-03
I have to agree with your comment. The more I read the more I was drawn into the article. He had a previous post that was on HN a while ago that I found pretty well written too - http://www.41latitude.com/post/557224600/map-comparison
blahedo · 2010-12-02
When I saw this I could have sworn I had read it before, but in fact what I was remembering were earlier posts by the same guy (also comparing Google, Bing, and Yahoo maps); if you liked this post you might like them too:
http://www.41latitude.com/post/557224600/map-comparison
http://www.41latitude.com/post/1130407638/map-comparison-2
j053003 · 2010-06-20
The realistic-looking highway shields are a welcome addition. (They're much better than the cartoony-looking ones seen on most online maps.)
I wonder if they were influenced by this: http://www.41latitude.com/post/598792787/realistic-looking-highway-shi…