Originally, maps were works of art, used to say: “look, there’s our empire, look how cool we are!”

Then Ptolemy used detailed maps for astrology.

Only during the Renaissance did maps become used for navigation — this is when explorers and commerce started using maps to navigate oceans.

Only in the 19th century did people start making city maps for regular consumption. Tourists could now navigate new cities without constantly asking for directions.

In the 1980s, GPS started to emerge from ARPA research. In 2000, people began mass adoption, with GPS in phones and cars. In 2005, Google Maps was created.

Since then, the story of maps has been a story of ever-increasing detail, as maps providers work to gather ever more location-based information and ever more personalized recommendations.

Meanwhile, social maps like Waze provide real-time context to navigation, making maps live-updating and relevant.

Maps have been used for display, for navigation, for discovery, for social connection, and for digital space. They have become indispensable to our experience of location.