After attending the first lecture in the series 'Inside the Image series', the book The Rule of Freedom really caught my eye because of its focus and connections between cartography and my hometown Manchester.
After reading the introduction chapter and 'Maps, Numbers & the City I learned more than I ever have about the place I come from. It's ruling of freedom is intriguing but quite ironic following the Peterloo Massacre. The maps of Manchester shown in this book were publicly available to both the rich and the poor, to all classifications and genders, however, it is easy to see the split between the rich & poor when looking at these aerial drawings from 1889 (for example to the left of Deansgate on Figure the buildings are much smaller and compact in size compared to those on the opposite side).
Joyce, P. (2003). The Rule of Freedom. London: Verso, pp.10, 35, 36, 37, 42, 54
Mapping it out
A very hard book to find when everyone in the class is looking for it! Luckily I was able to browse through this popular find after borrowing it in the library from one of my coursemates. I was amazed by the quality and quantity of the content available at my fingertips as it opened my eyes to the endless variants that maps can be perceived by designers - the book giving me a glimpse into their minds. During ideas generation, I may come back to the book or look at the photos I took of the maps created because they are a suitable starting point for creating a fresh look. Depth of knowledge and inspiration is needed to create a suitable solution to a project brief.
Comments