Not the most attractive creation, but a clever use of Google Earth nonetheless. This is just one carpet print from German designer David Hanauer, who turned a 2008 university project into a business venture — one that nets him up to 400 euros (~$550) per carpet.
A fascination with photography, contemporary Persian design and Sim City was all Hanauer needed to bring these carpets to life. In an interview with GOOD, Hanauer does his best to explain his inspiration:
Why I’m attracted by this is only because of the top view of things, because in normal life you always walk around with the horizontal view, so you only see the horizontal line. And the thing is when you have the top view you can barely see what things are like, so if it’s a house or a car you just see these graphical elements and colors but you probably don’t get firsthand what it’s really like.
The patterns are mostly of urban locations, but a few, such as the stark “Arctic Woodland” below, offer something more nature-tinged. I see a pair of hairy lips, but I’m odd like that.
WorldWide Carpets [via GOOD]