Masterful design of the everyday baggage tag by Nathan Yau.
Nathan points to a post on the history of baggage tags that including the following quote:
Just as you can track, step-by-step, a package you’ve sent by FedEx, airlines use bar-coded tags to sort and track bags automatically, through the airport, and across the world. That’s a huge change from the old days, when bags were dropped into the “black box” of a manually sorted baggage system. But crucially, an ABT doesn’t just contain a bar code—it’s also custom-printed with your name, flight details, and destination. That made the global implementation of ABTs much easier, because early-adopters could introduce them long before every airport was ready—a huge advantage when it comes to seamlessly connecting the world’s least and most advanced airports. And of course, ABTs can still be read manually when systems break down.
There is a for design.
Works with fully manual, fully automated and everything in between systems.
What about your topic map? Or is it enslaved by the need for electronic power?
If I can read a street map by sun/moon light, then why not a topic map? (At least sometimes.)
Suggestions?