hoppermagic

04 Oct 2009 : Fraser Yachts destinations map

I've always liked the rollover action on this interactive map created a while back for Fraser Yachts. It uses flash's localToGlobal function among other things to give the effect of changing the maps registration point when zooming in. The data and images are also dynamic, meaning updates are quick and relatively painless.

14 Jul 2006 : The Southern line

After getting pissed off with the Northern line for about the hundredth time I decided it was time to do something drastic - build my own tube line.

Obviously I started with the most important thing first, the branding :) Whereas the Northern line and the tube in general could be characterised by a bunch of lazy, kebab munching, money grabbing incompetents, running a badly designed system badly, the Southern line would be very different. Think engineers in white coats, Germanic efficiency, steel, glass, laboratory cleanliness, attention to detal, the stewardesses from the fifth element, yes the Southern line would be a revolution!

The actual line was going to take the format of a large underground travellator, I had most of the engineering problems (like going round corners) solved, and the selected logo (slightly British Steel-esque) played on this fact, with the negative area representing the smooth uninterrupted journey from A to B. If you download the pdf worksheet you'll see dozens of development ideas working their way to a solution at the top.

Unfortunately I soon moved house and no longer being on the Northern line I abandoned the project, a decision I'm sure to regret. One of the guerilla activities that I was particularly looking forward to was visiting road works under cover of darkness and erecting 'Southern line preliminary excavation' signs, that would have freaked a few people out!

The holding page for the website was a success though, I actually had a couple of job applications from people who were looking to work on the line, which I found quite amusing.