EHRN: Interactive Google Map Prototype
'Project' => 'Create a graphic means for accessing country profile information about harm reduction issues for Eurasian Harm Reduction Network, as part of the Open Society Foundations and Parsons Fellowship in Information Design.',
'Challenges' => 'Create an interface that users can interact with to see glimpses of the status of harm reduction in each country and subregion of Eurasia, and then dive deeper to see specifics about any given country or subregion.',
'Solutions' => 'Since we were dealing with geographic regions, I chose a map as a means for seeing country and region borders. I chose Google Maps for a stable, well-managed and cross-browser compatible platform on which to build the interface. I created a grayscale base map with varying shades of EHRN’s corporate blue to highlight each subregion of Eurasia (as overlays, using a database that I found with GPS coordinates for each country’s borders), as well as corresponding buttons to access regional harm reduction profiles. Upon mouse hover over a region’s button or a country on the map, the region or country turns gray. Upon mouse click, it turns orange, and a Google Maps infoWindow appears with a glimpse at pertinant information and a link for the full profile. At the time of the map implementation, Kosovo was not listed as a separate country, so I also created custom labels that also appear on mouse hover.'
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