The other day I was walking by Current Lounge & Sushi Restaurant in Washington, DC and noticed that they were using contour lines as a visual design element on their window signs. On topographic maps, contour lines represent the vertical elevation change. The closer the contour lines are together on the map, the steeper the incline. Conversely, the more distance between contour lines, the flatter the topography.

In theory, the contour lines on the Current Lounge & Sushi Restaurant are supposed to represent the height of the three main area codes in the DC area- 202 (Washington, DC), 301 (Southern Maryland), and 703 (Northern Virginia), however, after looking over these “maps,” I don’t think the elevations are correctly shown. Check out the rest of the photos below:

They are supposed to represent 10 foot intervals.

But as you can see,

they don’t really show the elevation properly.

Maybe if there was a base elevation included, they might show the proper heights.

Regardless, I thought this was a creative use of cartographic design elements!

For more information about Current Lounge & Sushi Restaurant, click on the “map” taken from their website:

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