A Japanese designer has developed a unique but wildly accurate world map, which merges the design of a globe and that of a classical map. The complex project enables a 2D map to be converted into a 3D graphical representation so precise it can actually be folded into a globe without distorting land masses.

Mapping the world has always been a work at the expense of accuracy. For a map to be designed on paper, the south and north had to be stretched in order to get a correct representation of the parallels. By flattening the representation of the Earth, cartographers managed to distort the representation of the world as we see it.

From Antarctica being a lot smaller than its bi-dimensional version, to China being no bigger than the United States (including both Hawaii and Alaska), very few details remained proportionally accurate.

Mapping The World From A New Angle

Hajime Narukawa at Keio University's Graduate School of Media and Governance in Tokyo showed the world, through his project, that mapping something shouldn't be about sacrifice and simple mathematical shapes, but about showing accuracy in the final representation. This is what the AuthaGraph map design, which can be folded into a 3D masterpiece, does.

The project has a number of products on which the new map, in various forms, can be printed. It can be delivered either as a poster depicting the world from different angles, or an image that can be folded into a globe. The AuthaGraph map maintains the correct proportions of land masses no matter which form it takes.

The novelty of the map consists of the fact that it shrinks the distance between Russia and Alaska, depicting Antarctica in an accurate manner, and it does so without compromising any other fact as part of the representation. Because of the ingenuity of his project the student was awarded Japan's Good Design Award in October, outclassing all the other 1,000-plus submissions through the most basic design principle - accuracy.

The AuthaGraph can be divided into smaller bits, from spheres to cones. Everything is designed by dividing the sphere equally using the geodesic dome theory. There is an extra-large version of the map available on the product's website, as well as composite poster made by arranging 40 AuthaGrpahic maps in such a way that users can view different points of the Earth from various perspectives.

"It shows there are no 'four corners of the Earth' by arranging several world maps without visible seams around a world map with color. You can see Antarctica at the right bottom is close to not only South America but also Africa and Australia," states the website description of the project.