See the new Data-driven styling feature from Google Maps Platform

Maps are one of the best ways to quickly access complex information. One of the prerequisites for expressive data visualization is the customized design of the map so that it conveys exactly the information users are looking for. With the new Data-driven styling Preview feature from Google Maps Platform, long-awaited capabilities are now accessible for developers, such as highlighting administrative boundaries and creating choropleth maps. We developed a demo for Google Maps Platform that uses three country examples to show what is possible with this new feature.

The new Data-driven styling feature is now available in Preview for the Maps JavaScript API. This feature enables the data-driven styling of administrative boundaries on the map allowing you to restyle the same boundary polygons that appear in Google Maps. In our demo for Google Maps Platform, we show what is possible with data-driven styling.

The new capabilities enabled by Data-driven styling

Here is an overview of the most important innovations:

• Administrative area polygons are now available: Administrative areas can be selected, colored and clicked on the map. The Data-driven styling feature provides access to the same boundary polygons that appear in Google Maps.
• Detailed administrative areas: Country boundaries for most of the world are available and in selected countries additional administrative boundary types such as city districts and postal code areas are available.
• Customizable design of the map style: The administrative boundaries can be individually restyled - from the line width to the transparency. The labels on the map are never covered, although the administrative areas are the second data level above the basemap.
• Enhanced user experiences: By assigning polygons to the Places ID, areas can be combined with other data. In order for users to easily see whether an entry (e.g. an apartment) is located in a certain area, polygons around the searched entry provide further context for orientation.
• Interactive elements: Users can click on interactive areas on the map and the API provides additional information like name and PlaceID that can be used for display.
• Choropleth display: Administrative areas can be colored based on your own datasets. For example, postcode areas can be colored according to sales figures or federal states according to house prices.

Use cases of Data-driven styling

The ability to highlight geographical boundaries on a map was a long-awaited feature from our customers. It enables many new use cases where you previously had to worry about challenging technical aspects and costly data acquisition. Google Maps Platform is a great source here, because it provides high-quality polygons.

Data-driven styling has use cases in various industries such as retail, financial services, government, non-profit, education, media, tourism or real estate. Every company that wants to collect, analyze or output data on country, city or even district levels has a use for it. Whether it's hotel groups or real estate companies - data visualization based on different geographic areas - from country to district - offers many opportunities for great user experiences.

Real estate portals can display the area that apartments are located in and highlight the district accordingly. The choropleth display is suitable for displaying the output of internal analyses, such as the coloring of postcode areas according to sales revenue. From logistics to tourism - with Data-driven styling, geo-based information can be visualized quickly and easily.

Learn how to get started

If you want to learn more about Data-driven styling, just let us know how we can help.