Hasta La Ideas

The Guardian has launched an online app on its site that allows users to scroll around a highly detailed 360 degree photo taken from the viewing platform of London’s tallest building, The Shard, which opens to paying visitors today…

Created in-house and making use of two super-detailed 360 degree photographs (one taken during the day, one taken at dusk) created by panoramic photographer Will Pearson, the app launches with a short filmed intro (still shown above) that takes the user into the lift of The Shard, up to the 68th floor and out on to the viewing platform. It’s worth putting your headphones on to hear the wind in your ears as you arrive virtually at the viewing platform.

Simple instructions appear handwritten on the screen  although the app is pretty intuitive – you can scroll around and zoom in and choose whether to admire the view with or without the dozens of sound, story and landmark tags on screen.

Click on a tag to find out info about landmarks or to read stories by various Londoners about places of significance to them.

There are also sounds of the city to sample as well, sourced from the London Sound Survey – so you can listen, for example, to birds chirping on Walthamstow Marshes, or the sound of Big Ben’s tuneful bells chiming the hour…

The 360 degree photograph is pretty spectacular, although it’s a little hazy when you zoom in to distant parts of the scene, and it’s great to make the tags disappear to find your own way around the incredible view.

There’s also an option to change the image to dusk:

Find the app on The Guardian’s site here. Be warned, it’s very easy to spend a lot of time admiring the view.

To book tickets to check out the view in person at The Shard, visit theviewfromtheshard.com.

CR in Print
The February issue of CR magazine features a major interview with graphic designer Ken Garland. Plus, we delve into the Heineken advertising archive, profile digital art and generative design studio Field, talk to APFEL and Linder about their collaboration on a major exhibition in Paris for the punk artist, and debate the merits of stock images versus commissioned photography. Plus, a major new book on women in graphic design, the University of California logo row and what it means for design, Paul Belford on a classic Chivas Regal ad and Jeremy Leslie on the latest trends in app design for magazines and more. Buy your copy here.

Please note, CR now has a limited presence on the newsstand at WH Smith high street stores (although it can still be found in WH Smith travel branches at train stations and airports). If you cannot find a copy of CR in your town, your WH Smith store or a local independent newsagent can order it for you. You can search for your nearest stockist here. Alternatively, call us on 020 7970 4878, or buy a copy direct from us. Based outside the UK? Simply call +44(0)207 970 4878 to find your nearest stockist. Better yet, subscribe to CR for a year here and save yourself almost 30% on the printed magazine.

CR for the iPad
Read in-depth features and analysis plus exclusive iPad-only content in the Creative Review iPad App. Longer, more in-depth features than we run on the blog, portfolios of great, full-screen images and hi-res video. If the blog is about news, comment and debate, the iPad is about inspiration, viewing and reading. As well as providing exclusive, iPad-only content, the app will also update with new content throughout each month.