Most maps of the world depict Greenland as a behemoth piece of land that’s comparable in size to Africa when, in reality, the African continent is 14 times the size of Greenland. This happens because creating a precise flat map of our spherical planet is incredibly hard.
The maps we often associate with the image of our world from classroom walls and atlases are Mercator projections created for navigation in 1569. While they may be good for sailing the Atlantic, they do not offer accurate area depictions of our oceans and landmasses. But now, Japanese designer Jajime Narukawa has created a map that’s so accurate it’s almost as good as a globe. While it may look a little odd to those of us used to seeing Mercator maps, it’s probably one of the best estimations you’ll see of the real size of countries.
Read the full article below to see the map and learn more about its creation, which won it the 2016 Good Design Award:
