This week, as an extension of the Microsoft-Nokia partnership, a new joint map design will begin rolling out across Bing Maps, Nokia Maps and Windows Phones. 

From MWC 2012 (Mobile World Congress) Nokia CEO, Stephen Elop made a point of noting in a press event that their [Nokia's]  vision for LBS is so much broader than just maps...  Essentially, Nokia maps has a goal of answering 3 questions from users - these are what guide their innovation in this space. Nokia maps is designed to respond to what, where, who? What - what do I want to know, Who - with whom do I engage with, and Where - where should I explore.

Building on this the company has made some dramatic changes in Nokia maps over the year. Today Nokia shared the new map design, available on desktop and mobile versions of Bing and Nokia map.

Nokia CEO, Elop
Who, What, Where Answered by Nokia Maps

Via Nokia and the Nokia Conversations Blog...

together with our partner Microsoft and their Bing Maps team, have taken a fresh look at maps and jointly developed a new form of presentation. So what have we done with our maps?

First, they’re simpler. There are fewer intrusive objects, icons and signs that get in the way when you just want to navigate. If you are exploring places in a city you might want to see the local art gallery or eating options but if you are planning a route you just need to know where you are going and the best way to get there.

We’ve redesigned for context too, so a very different level of information is presented to you when you zoom compared to when you pan out. Go in for detail, pull back for context. Simple, and all in a liquid user interface that provides a seamless transition from birds’ eye panorama to close-up view.

Old on the top; new on the bottom

Our colour palette has been reduced to make for maps that don’t confuse the brain but present an orderly view of roads, locations and directions. We’ve also beautified our maps using the Nokia Pure font for all legends so place names are legible and elegant.

See More:

Mapping the new digital world

See also the Bing Maps Blog