This animation of an infinite map, or 'map vision', represents the density of restaurants in the heart of central Tokyo, yet with an imaginative twist: It is morphed into a typical Japanese ramen dish. This creative data dream is a tasty fusion of a heatmap, density map, and contour visualization. Drawing inspiration from journeys through cities and neighbourhoods, dining in surprising restaurants and bars, and blending reality with fantasy, I envisioned the 3D map as a dish (or perhaps, it is the dish as a map?). It is embellished and animated in an eternal loop in a way that reveals culinary hotspots in Tokyo. This treatment may stir the viewer's appetite for new flavours, or prompt them to recall past adventures and ignite future travel dreams.
This evolving data visualisation was initially made for the #30DayMapChallenge as a still visualization, then revisited, embellished, sonified and animated in March 2024 for a Digital Art Exposition.
GIS and Data Analysis: made in R
Data: OpenStreetMap Contributors 2021
Visualization: Blender, R, and Photoshop
Animation: Blender and DaVinci Resolve
More to come soon!