One Plus One Equals Three: Our Island Home: Grown, Barbecued, Spilt, Rocked & Eaten

Aus_maps I've always been intrigued by how the physical shape of the Australian continent is creatively and graphically repurposed. Whether it's cartoonists using the map of Australia as a head of the 'typical Aussie battler/everyman' (but what of Tasmania?) or used to symbolise Australian wine (an Aus-map shaped drop splatter or an Australia-shaped vine leaf), or even an Australia-shaped rock (the outback), the shape of our island home has an indelible graphic presence in our culture. I know other cultures do this a bit too, but we seem to do it quite alot (and I get a real kick out of it).

Sometimes these repurposed shapes, via a clever use of visual language, succinctly and memorably communicate a concept better than words ever would – at a glance too (see the examples at left).

Aah... the skill of a good communication designer. Read on to see the beginnings of a gallery of gleeful, visual language-based Aus-map bastardisations.

Ausmapricecracker

Rice crackers (that is the Great Australian Bight after all).

Ausmaprorsharch

What do you see in this rorschach test? (visit the 'travel profiler').

Cartoonausmap2

Rg_dyson_ausmap

Aus_burger2

An Aus-burger anyone?

Aus_rock

Logo for the now defunct(?) Outback Cafe.

Ausmapauswest

Aus_map_vine

Graphic on a wine label (of course it was a big South Australian Coonawarra red). Clever, clever stuff.
© Baily & Baily.

An Aus-map devised by nature: the 'mud map' as described by peacay (see comments below).

A cover design for Regular Records by Martin Sharp.

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More Aus-maps to be added to this post as they're discovered.

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Vaguely, but not exactly, related – (but interesting nonetheless): Australian map-shaped comedy-news desk, as seen on what may be Australia's funniest TV show: Newstopia. And Tasmania is the drinks holder...