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Simple outlines from the Equal Earth Projection map selections
Printed for you, made to order
Colour · printed in PLA
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About this model
<p>Long-standing distortions in cartography have fundamentally warped how we view the globe, often making Africa and the Global South look drastically smaller than they are in reality. The traditional Mercator projection—originally created by Gerardus Mercator in 1569—was designed strictly for maritime navigation. However, it severely distorts landmasses near the poles. For example, it makes Greenland look roughly the same size as Africa, even though Africa is actually 14 times larger.</p><p>To fix this, cartographers Bojan Šavrič, Tom Patterson, and Bernhard Jenny created the Equal Earth Projection in 2018.</p><figure class="image image-style-align-center"><img class="editor-image-resize" src="https://media.printables.com/media/prints/1863435/rich_content/d4b744a5-b203-4c66-9382-89962fbc41fe/comparison_of_equal_earth_and_robinson_projectionssvg.webp#%7B%22uuid%22%3A%22e4cf35bb-28c4-416a-a23f-995cba4937e8%22%2C%22w%22%3A1920%2C%22h%22%3A1051%7D"></figure><p>The image above overlays the two models to show the true relative size of the world (Red = Mercator, Blue = Equal Earth). Widespread adoption of equal-area maps takes time, while educational textbooks, digital media and television graphics are increasingly switching to accurate views to properly teach geography, navigation systems will continue to rely on Mercator formats. This is because interactive street maps, aviation systems and ships require directionally accurate angles to navigate safely.</p><p>Note: Geopolitical…
Description by the designer on Printables.
How it works
- You pick the model; we fetch the designer’s file and print it in our UK workshop.
- Every piece is hand-finished and quality-checked before it ships, like everything in our shop.
- Printed in PLA, a plant-based material. More about our material.
This design was created and shared by an independent designer and remains their property. Every model offered for printing here has a licence that permits commercial printing. The original model page and licence are linked above.
