Uchi.ru workbook:
history map
system and guide
Solution for the history maps was necessary not only because of the digital context, but also because of copyright issues, since most history maps are published by one publishing house in Russia and it’s next to impossible to get permissions from them.
Regular maps used in schools are often overloaded with layers of inormation and don’t always work for the purposes that individual articles published in the uchi.ru workbook.
For this proejct we came up for a unique set of icons and labels, a system of colours and patters, a funtional variety of arrows to represent different kinds of events/actions.
Together with the learning designers we broke down complex and multi-layered maps into smaller simpler stages, that improved legibility and clarity of each individual map, made it easier to read, understand and remember.
Process-wise, the basis for the maps were produced by the professional map designer Anastasia Pozdorovkina. Illustrators then took the work files and adjusted them to the new set of rules according to the brief from the learning designers.
However, the more “zoomed in” maps were redesigned to be more scheme-like with specific rules on how these shapes were designed, examples below.