In the first week of July I delivered the closing keynote at Camp Digital 2025, a conference at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester organized by Nexer Digital. 'The Spectacular Lies of Maps' was a brand new talk I put together specifically for this event, and I had an immensely good time gauging the reactions and responses.
Next time I do this talk I essentially promised to perform an interpretative dance with my inflatable globe, á la Charlie Chaplin in The Dictator (if you know you know).
The premise is this: What you see in a map can never be the complete truth. Many choices are made in their making, based on intent, values, real-world constraints, bias and budget. I used the world map to bring home these points, highlighting how we deceive and are deceived, and emphasising the inherent responsibilities of designers.
I’ve published a companion page for the talk, complete with slides, reference links and all embedded videos so you can watch them in your own time. Also, thanks to the generosity of Nexer Digital, recordings of all the talks from this year and previous years are published for everyone to see.
All the material and links can be found here: https://axbom.com/cdmaps/
Image description: A subtly smiling Per Axbom delivering his talk while holding an inflated beach ball in the style of Earth as seen from space. Per is wearing glasses, a blue button-front shirt and a light-beige jacket/overshirt. The wall behind him is lit up in a purple color.
#CampDigital