# Invisible made visible #followup Break up into a connected 41 series One of the aspects of [[Environmental graphic design|environmental graphic design (EGD)]] I love is making the invisible visible. Whether it be [[Wayfinding|wayfinding]] or information signage, [[Environmental graphic design|EGD]] is a form of design that can add a layer of information to our spatial environment. This is still a \#seed, but I’m collecting interesting examples for how anything invisible is made visible. (Or when things go wrong.) ### The world beneath our feet ![[San Francisco, cisterns#^05ca06]] ### Ghosts of the past - #seed Plaques are embedded in the downtown sidewalks in [[San Francisco]], indicating the burial sites of abandoned ships from the California Gold Rush.[^1] - #seed The art installation by Jan Dibbets in Paris streets commemorating the [[Paris meridian]] > In the early 19th century, astronomer François Arago, working off of centuries of prior calculations solidified a global meridian line that ran right through Paris. As it had already been for hundreds of years in France, Arago’s meridian was widely accepted by many astronomers and researchers as the “Prime” or “Zero” dividing line of the globe. Unfortunately his was not the only meridian in competition to be _the one_. At the 1884 International Meridian Conference, which was put together specifically to determine which line of longitude would become the one true king of global spacial measurement, it was decided that the meridian line running through Greenwich would become the prime. This unfortunately left Arago and the centuries old Paris meridian out in the cold, to be largely forgotten by time and progress.[^2] ### Interesting error-based examples - #seed Ecuador has a line to indicate the equator that passes through the country. However, this installation was designed and installed before GPS and is located several hundred feet to the north. [^1]: [National Geographic: New Map Reveals Ships Buried Below San Francisco](https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/map-ships-buried-san-francisco) [^2]: [Atlas Obscura](https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/arago-medallions)