‘Portraits of failure’: Apple Maps glitches as art

Apple Maps Glitches
Apple Maps Glitches

Apple hates Google. While there have been some huge advancements spawned from that hatred — fierce competition between the two companies spurs innovation — there have also been some monumental disasters. Case in point: Apple Maps. Apple was in such a rush to get Google Maps off of its iOS devices that it launched an awful half-baked mapping solution of its own long before the product was ready for primetime. Apple’s Maps app was so bad that CEO Tim Cook actually had to issue a public apology, but some beauty has finally emerged from this unsightly blemish on iOS. Behold, “mapglitch.”

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apple-maps-art-4
apple-maps-art-4

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Peder Norrby is a computer engineer, a photographer and founder of graphic design company Trapcode, and he also apparently dabbles in existentialism. Norrby posted a series titled “mapglitch” to his Flickr account, and the distorted images pulled from Apple’s Maps software come together to create and unique experience characterized by chaos.

apple-maps-art-6
apple-maps-art-6

“I’m not trying to ridicule Apple Maps. I’m doing this because I like the images,” Norrby told Co.Design. Whatever the reason, the designer has created a fantastic series that bends reality, literally, to capture the viewer’s attention.

apple-maps-art-7
apple-maps-art-7

“The glitches are essentially the computer misunderstanding the underlying geometry,” Norrby said. “It tries its best and sometimes it leads to comical, interesting, and lovely images.”

A few more images from Norrby’s collection, which Co.Design refers to as “portraits of failure,” follow below. The rest can be seen on his Flickr page.

apple-maps-art-1
apple-maps-art-1
mapglitch-2
mapglitch-2
apple-maps-art-5
apple-maps-art-5


This article was originally published on BGR.com