The icon that we have all come to know and love which graces our Google maps to let us know where we are, or where we need to go, has become ubiquitous. Designer Shuchun Hsiao realized this and created the Google Birdhouse Project, an ongoing project to give birds desinations of their own, just like Google maps does for humans.
The designer explains, “Birds, have the most real experience of google map. Birds can fly through the city, through streets. A birdhouse becomes their destination as google map does.”
[via Freshome]
Austen Tangen on 01.28.2013 at 15:47 PM
I think this is an incredibly clever idea by Shuchun Hsiao. As stated by the designer, birds flying around experience the world in a panorama similar to that of google maps. Birds have been known to use devices of orientation such as natural features and landmarks during migration or in locating their nest and this could be a creative alternative for that. The aim of design is to create an image that communicates and i think this accomplishes exactly that. Perhaps these birds will begin to recognize the google points and the image will become synonymous with their destination or home much the same as it has for us.
toildrops on 01.28.2013 at 17:41 PM
Actually the Google birdhouse was initially published on toildrops:
http://toildrop.com/2013/01/project-google-birdhouse/
where it was picked up by designboom, and then the rest of the internet..
Hua Ning on 01.28.2013 at 21:24 PM
That’s a cool inspiration. It will be better if birds ever use Google map :P