Google Map overlay graphic

rctneil

rctneil

rctneil

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Joined
31 Jan 2007
Posts
1,860
Hello guys,

I'm not a graphic designer but would appreciate help here.

I am trying to make an overlay graphic to be positioned on top of an interactive google map on a site I am developing.

I would like it to be like this Dribbble that I like: http://dribbble.com/shots/76146-Contact-page-map

I have tried making it myself but as I said before, graphic design does not fall in my suit of skills.

Is anyone out there able to give it a shot?

Basically looking for it to be a graphic with a transparent background that can sit ontop a google map to make it look like it's been folded. If you could provide the project file, preferably a Fireworks PNG so I can manipulate it to make it fit the sizes needed then that would be excellent.

Thanks in advance to anyone able to help me out here.

Kind regards,
Neil
 
Cute idea... or so I thought until I tried the above linked tutorial's online demo.

In practice, the shaded fold overlay makes the map harder to read. It's particularly noticeable when you drag the underlying map around; the shading layer's non-movement just makes it more obvious, and adds visual noise to the presentation. And unlike real paper maps, you can't adjust the plane of the 'paper' to the light source in order to eliminate the shadows.

This is a bad thing.

When you think about it, why haven't Google done this already? Why were old car road atlases big books of non-folded sheets? What was the sole reason for folding maps in the first place [answer: portability; something that doesn't matter electronically].

So while eye-candy has its place, please consider that the reason people are using that map of yours is to get information that they specifically need quickly and with clarity. Think long and hard before putting anything between them and it :)
 
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For me the shadows on the paper are too heavy, reduce those and I think the legibility is fine for the application. I wouldn't use the effect if the map was critical, but more often that not gmaps embedded on websites are there for show rather than functionality.
 
Thanks guys,

Yeh, When I tried the demos on the page, something does not feel right. They look great statically but fail on interactivity.

Might see if I can find an alternative way to make my maps a bit snazzier.
 
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