Typographic Map of the World

Artist Nancy McCabe creates maps of the world using nothing but words. Well, almost nothing but words. There's some lines and stuff. You can totally tell that this didn't take any time at all. (Via)

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  On a regular map, all the extraneous symbols and topographic lines can easily be confused with countries. These maps strip away the geography of the world to nothing but words.

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  When you focus on one small area, you can see its vast collection of nations, cities, and seas without all the clutter.

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  Blind grids show latitude and longitude, which prevents it from feeling too unmap-like.

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  However, when you start to scrutinize the layout you can get lost in the details. There are a lot of cities and it's really a lot to wade through if you're looking for one particular place name.

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  For those who don't want theirs in plain grey, there's also a watercolor version.

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  The best feature of these maps, though, is how they look from afar. The text fades to an abstract crush of gray and the watercolor version adds a wonderful old world seafarer feel.