We are so used to seeing our continents a certain way for hundreds of years, it's no wonder we have some major misconceptions when it comes to size comparisons.
This project aims to visualize an equal-area projection in its most simple and playful ways to educate an audience that lacks information. I took tremendous care — and several tries — to facilitate the best mode of communicating this message. This project has taken, what I consider, a recognizable but correctly proportioned map and adapted to a flat 3D form. Each country has been lasercut to its correct area proportions and can be colored using ordinary classroom chalks. This educational kit allows one to pan out as each country begins to detach. Here is where the magic happens. This is where this project takes you outside the pages of a static geography book. Stacking and overlaying one country on top of another other playfully show visual proportions. It also clarifies. It educates. It becomes symbolic. What we thought was small, perhaps Chile, actually becomes large. Or Brazil, when stacked with continental United States, is bigger. For the most part, I too was surprised at these findings.
