Google Earth satellite images provide a wealth of visual data. Land Lines explores the diversity of color, line and form found in these images through gesture. Built in collaboration with artist Zach Lieberman, we wanted to connect vast landscapes, reminding users of just how beautiful and connected our planet is, through the simplest gesture we use everyday on our phones–touch.

We wanted to create something that would make the most of the beautiful Google Earth satellite imagery, while also showing off how fast mobile browsers like Chrome can be. With the two different modes of exploring, users can explore that satellite imagery while also seeing the connectedness of the world.

The experience was made for Chrome but the target audience for the project was all encompassing. We wanted to make something that anyone can enjoy effortlessly, especially users on mobile.

The result was a mesmerizing experience powered entirely by your web browser, allowing you to explore the connectedness and beauty of our planet through your most personal device. Users have spent over 38,000 hours (an average of over 2.5 minutes per session) on the experience since it launched, with over 31 million interactions. They shared their most memorable results on social media. On Twitter we heard comments such as: “You can say a lot about @Google, but this is #art!”, “I have never been more entertained in my life”, and “Take a moment to get lost in Land Lines. It’s a masterpiece (a word I don’t use lightly).”

Organic press pick up was equally as exciting with features on Wired and even the homepage of Reddit. Most exciting was to see developers engage with the content, creating their own extensions of the idea using the open source code. One fan created a tool that made the connected “Drag” experiment images into a screensaver, which they then shared out with others.