Flight Maps and Geography Settings

Interactive flight maps are a great way to kill time on long haul flights. Few In Flight Entertainment (IFE) systems can get the geography wrong on the maps. Take a look at this one on Malaysian Airlines.

On the world map, we know that Auckland is far far away from Kuala Lumpur to its right. On this map, representation shows that Kuala Lumpur is to the right of Auckland, and the flight is flying from Auckland to Kuala Lumpur. 

As you might notice, a natural mapping is missing on the interactive map. 

Mapping is a technical term meaning the relationship between two things.

Consider the steering wheel in a car. To turn the car to the right, one turns the steering wheel clockwise (so that its top moves to the right). The mapping is easily learned and always remembered.

Natural mapping takes advantage of physical analogies and cultural standards (Another example - red traffic light means stop; green means go). The human mind is trained for natural mapping. As a result, products, in general, should exploit natural mapping to design enchanted experiences.