Map in an App

[rasagy]

Hi everyone,

Let’s use this issue to work on our map-in-an-app exercise. Our aim is to create a prototype for an app where a map plays a key role.

You can pick from the following approaches:

1. Redesign the map experience that already exists in an existing app
2. Add a new feature/workflow that includes a map in an existing app
3. Create a new map-based app

Document your design process:

1. Which app are you enhancing/what app are you thinking of creating
2. Who is the target audience?
3. Are there similar apps that solve this problem? How do they use maps?
4. Brainstorm potential problems will this app/feature solve/improve?
5. Create a rough user flow, IA (or any changes to existing IA) and wireframes for the concept
6. Define the aesthetic/branding inspiration (moodboard/references for new app, existing branding & design details for existing app)
7. Create a unique map style using Mapbox studio
8. Design Hi fidelity screens (static), or an interactive Figma prototype, or a vibe coded app.

Aim for three aspects when incorporating this map in your app design:

1. Custom basemap designed in Mapbox Studio.
2. Data overlays that focus on highlighting some info.
3. Interactions with the map.

References

• My Pinterest board with some inspiration for map-in-an-app
• Great collection of Map UI Patterns
• Mapbox’s Guide to Map Design & set of Map Design tutorials
• Create custom datasets on Mapbox Dataset Editor or Geojson.io
• Extract data from OpenStreetMap by finding relevant tags and running a query using Overpass Turbo’s Wizard
• Past examples of work done in this course: Map in an app #90, Map in an app #80, Apps with maps Assignment #31

[pratyushr58]

Idea 1: District by Zomato - Map based Discovery

App
District by Zomato (Dining, Events, Stores)

Current pain point


Discovery of a restaurant/ store is list-based, showing one option at a time. Distance and spatial context are hidden, and directions open in Google Maps, breaking flow.

Solution/New features


• A primary "Map Mode" that replaces the list view, allowing users to plan a multi-stop evening (e.g., Dinner -> Movie -> Drinks) based on proximity.
• Map based browsing with filters for distance, area, cuisine, rating, cost, offers, plus a visited-places layer and in-app directions.
• Other Smart proximity filters and "Vibe" Heatmaps.

Idea 2: Playo - Map-based Sports Venue Discovery

App
Playo (sports venue booking)

Current pain point


• Venues are shown in a list with distance in km, making it hard to judge actual accessibility when many options fall within similar ranges.
• The current list view displays distance in kms (e.g., "7km away"), which can be misleading in traffic-heavy cities like Bangalore.

Solution/ New features

• Map-based ui showing ratings, availability and connectivity at one place for easier decisions.
• Interface that emphasizes travel time and connectivity over raw distance and has transit details for smarter venue selection.
• Other features like a Group Midpoint Finder where users drop multiple pins to highlight venues in the overlapping convenient zone.

[Oin-ok]

Idea 1: LinkedIn: Career Landscape Map

The feature targets students and job seekers who make location-driven career decisions. Currently, jobs and networks on LinkedIn are presented as lists, making it difficult to understand where opportunities are concentrated. The map visualizes job demand, company clusters, and skill hotspots to support spatial exploration. Interactive filters allow users to refine roles, experience, and salary in real time. This map-first approach reduces decision fatigue and enables more informed career planning and networking.

1. Target Audience

• Students & early-career professionals
• Job seekers considering relocation
• Professionals exploring skill demand geographically

2. Existing / Similar Solutions

• LinkedIn Jobs → list + filters (no spatial insight)
• Glassdoor / Indeed → limited map pins, not exploratory
• Gap: No app visualizes career opportunity as a landscape.

3. Problems This Solves

• Job overload with no sense of where opportunities cluster
• Poor relocation decisions
• Weak, random networking

4. Map Integration

• Job demand heatmap by role.
• Office clusters and hiring zones.
• Alumni and skill concentration layers.

Idea 2: Spotify- Music Culture Map

The feature targets listeners who want to explore music beyond algorithmic recommendations. Currently, music discovery on Spotify is detached from geography and real-world context. The map visualizes genre popularity, local artists, and live music events across cities and neighborhoods. Interactive layers allow users to explore what people are listening to in different places and discover emerging artists nearby. This spatial approach creates a stronger cultural connection between music and place while encouraging intentional discovery.

1. Target Audience

• Music explorers
• Travelers
• Independent artists & local listeners

2. Existing / Similar Solutions

• Spotify Wrapped (temporal, not spatial)
• Songkick (events only)
• Gap: No mainstream app visualizes music by geography.

3. Problems This Solves

• Algorithm fatigue
• Music feels disconnected from real places
• Local artists lack visibility

Idea 3: Zoomcar - Map-First Decisions

Redesign Zoomcar’s existing map experience into a map-first decision interface for self-drive car rentals.

While Zoomcar currently uses maps to show pickup locations, users still lack visibility into availability patterns, pricing variation, and zone-based constraints. The redesigned map visualizes vehicle availability density, demand-based pricing zones, and pickup–drop flexibility using layered data overlays. Interactive filters allow users to compare locations based on cost, distance, and vehicle type in real time. By transforming the map from a navigation aid into a decision-support tool, the experience reduces uncertainty and helps users make faster, more informed rental choices.

Idea 4:

Essential unorganised service providers like cobblers and tailors are highly local yet digitally invisible. People usually rely on word of mouth, making these services difficult to find when urgently needed. A map-based feature can surface nearby informal workers as location pins, enabling discovery through proximity rather than search. Users can filter by service type and availability to find help quickly. This approach reduces search friction while giving visibility to local workers.

LinkedIn: Career Landscape Map

[gunhachan]

Latest Update: WIP Live Site (Mobile): https://gunhachan.github.io/putting-scene-map/

Still need to fix some major interface issues, but finally
got my desired mapbox style to render on my site.

---

Idea 1: Putting Scene Map-based Event Discovery

Putting Scene is a WhatsApp community turned into a website with booking features of offbeat and unique (maybe also premium) events and experiences in Bangalore. It's beloved and many people use it to find their next hangout spot after a long day or busy week.

But there is no map. The most it has is a Google Maps link to the venue. There could be a map feature that lets users make fast decisions about where to go and how to plan their travel.

Idea 2: Location Intelligence and Site Selection for Expanding Retailers and Restaurants

(Needs some more research) Existing tools are multi‑persona and multi‑use; they expose dozens of metrics and models. This concept is ruthlessly focused on one job: “Should we open a coffee shop here or not?” for a non-expert business user. The experience could have: a single map, a single “Site Scorecard” panel, and 2–3 top metrics (Cannibalization Risk, Foot Traffic Potential, Target Demographic Fit).

Idea 3: Better highway map experience for drivers, rest stops etc.

---

Incorporating a map into Putting Scene's web app

The main user group: Young Bangaloreans with disposable income looking for niche and unique experiences.

How a map can help:

1. Discovering places near user's location
2. Planning a hop/an entire day with these experiences and the closest places to get food, etc. (routing, time estimates, directions, etc.)
3. Finding a midpoint between user and user's friend

The map view provides a way to contextualize all these event listings with the user's spatial understanding of the city without going back and forth with the website and Google Maps.

How do similar apps use maps?

1. Zomato District

How they use maps:
Zomato District (launched as a "going out" super-vertical) attempts to be the offline equivalent of Google Maps but with discounts. It integrates dining, movies, and live events into one map interface.

What they do well:

• The "Offline" Bridge: They treat venues like "stores." The map cards are utilitarian, offering quick actions like "Call," "Directions," and "Share".
• Cross-Pollination: Because they own the dining data, they can show you a comedy club and the restaurant next door on the same interface.
• Hyper-Local Logic: They excel at the "Near Me" filter, leveraging their massive delivery fleet’s geospatial data to be very accurate about what is actually open.

What they are missing:

• Vibe Visualization: Their map pins are often generic logos or category icons. They don't visually distinguish a "high-energy rave" from a "quiet poetry slam" at a glance.
• Route Planning: While they show individual locations well, they don't help you plan a sequence (e.g., "Dinner here, then show there"). The "Smart Itinerary" feature is often just a wishlist, not a logistical tool.

2. BookMyShow

How they use maps:
BMS is the king of the Micro-Map (Seating Layouts) but avoids the Macro-Map (City Discovery). Their discovery is almost entirely list-based or carousel-based.

​What they do well:

• Precision Booking: Their "Seat Map" is the industry standard. It visualizes price tiers, availability, and screen angles perfectly.
• Event Density: They have the most inventory. If an event exists, it’s likely on BMS.

What they are missing:

• Spatial Context: Users frequently complain about location bugs (e.g., seeing events for other cities) because the interface is not grounded in a map view.
• The "Third Space": They sell you the ticket, but they don't care how you get there or where you wait beforehand. The user journey ends at the "Buy" button.

3. Swiggy Scenes/Steppinout

How they use maps:
Swiggy Scenes (integrated into the main delivery app) focuses on "Collections" and "Parties." Their map usage is often hidden behind curated lists like "Best NYE Parties".

​What they do well:

• Social Proof: They leverage the "fear of missing out" (FOMO). Their interface feels more like a social feed than a directory.
• Event Production: Since Swiggy acquires/produces events (SteppinOut), they often have exclusive "featured" visibility that stands out in the UI.

What they are missing:

• Navigation Utility: You often have to leave the app to check distance or traffic on Google Maps. The map is a static "location pin" rather than an interactive exploration canvas.

Main user flows

Playing around with map styles

[Choy-An]

** Aswanth C**

Idea 1: Urban Infrastructure Decision Simulation Platform

Map-based planning tool for city authorities

Current Pain Point
Urban planning decisions (traffic signals, one-way roads, bus lanes, junction redesigns) are currently:
Proposed through static reports and PDFs
Evaluated in isolation
Debated without visualizing downstream effects
Planners can’t easily see how a single decision:
Shifts congestion elsewhere
Affects emergency response times
Impacts nearby neighbourhoods

Solution / New Features
A planning-phase, map-based simulation website that lets authorities explore the spatial consequences of infrastructure decisions before implementation.
Will give the planners/authorities freedom to try and simulate various interventions, which with the help of analysis from existing data gives out its percentage of success, impact and such parameters.
On further developments it could estimate the time of completion and future predictions also.

Idea 2: District Flood Response Command System ✔✔

Map-based decision support for district control rooms

Current Pain Point
Static GIS layers
Phone calls and WhatsApp updates
Fragmented dashboards (hospitals, police, rescue teams all separate)

Lacks info on:
Which areas are becoming inaccessible
Where hospitals are about to fail
How resource allocation in one area affects another

Solution / New Features
Real-time flood progression and uncertainty zones
Hospital capacity and isolation risk mapped spatially
Ambulance, boat, and rescue team availability with fatigue states
Road and bridge accessibility collapse visualization

Gives answer to:
Where to send rescue teams/safety personnel's
Which routes are usable
Which hospitals are about to fail
What priority zones exist

---

16 Jan 2025

Problem Space & Scope
Finalized the scope as a district-level flood response system.
Focused on active flood situations, not prevention or long-term planning.
The product is positioned as a command & decision-support dashboard for district authorities.

Emphasis on:

• Situational awareness
• Allocation decisions
• Anticipating failures under uncertainty

Review of Existing Platforms

• Integrated Command & Control Centers (ICCCs)
• Global and regional disaster monitoring systems
• Satellite- and model-based hazard platforms (flood, landslide, alerts)

Data collected on:

• How maps are used
• What level of decision-making they support
• Their limitations at district-command scale

Closest Reference/Inspirations
NEC Mi-Command

• Real-world city/district command & control platform
• Strong precedent for control-room dashboards and multi-agency coordination
• Primarily reactive → inspiration for extending toward anticipatory decision support

Esri Emergency Management

• Map-first emergency situational awareness systems
• Strong geospatial integration precedent
• GIS-heavy → inspiration for simplifying into a command-friendly interface

Taiwan NDCR

Role of AI
Framed as assistive, specifically for:

• Anticipating emerging risks
• Highlighting second-order consequences
• Managing attention and prioritization

Flow 1: AI-Assisted Risk Anticipation (Trends (water rise, route instability, fatigue), Confidence-based AI signals)
Flow 2: Resource Reallocation & Consequence Visualization (Coverage gaps, Increased delays, Secondary risk zones)

Screens:
Have explored one iteration using 'Figma Make'.

Links:
Figma (case studies) : https://www.figma.com/design/AUU6zN82za5ZNzjepJ8j3E/District-Flood-Response?node-id=0-1&t=QnFkDasrtjQUwVtQ-1

[navya-geo]

Final Idea:

The Cash-Flow/ Spend map (PhonePe)

People in India spend money across multiple cities or local markets. Traditional list-based histories make it hard to see patterns in physical spending habits. So a feature that turns the boring transaction history into a Geographic Spend Map to help users visualize where their money is actually going.

1. The Problem

People use digital payment apps (PhonePe / Paytm / GPay) across multiple cities, neighborhoods, and vendors.

Transaction history today is:
Chronological
Text-heavy
Impossible to see patterns

Users don’t know:
Where most of their money is geographically going
How travel, relocation, or lifestyle shifts affect spending
Which local markets drain money vs add value

2. Target Audience

Primary Users

Urban & semi-urban Indian UPI users
Age: 22–45
Uses UPI daily
Spends across:
Home neighborhood
Workplace area
Travel cities
Local markets

Secondary Users

Frequent travelers
People who recently relocated
Expense-conscious users
Young professionals tracking lifestyle habits

3. Similar Apps

Wallet – Budget Expense Tracker — strong expense tracking but no spend-on-map feature mentioned.

Wally — tracks what, when, and where you spend (location metadata), but the interface doesn’t emphasize geo-visualization like a map.

Spendee — visually appealing spend categories and charts, but no mapped spend visualization.

MoneyWiz, YNAB, Goodbudget, PocketGuard, etc. — robust budgeting and analytics, but no indigenous map UI for spending.

4. Key Features

• The "Spending Bubble Map": A map view where larger bubbles represent areas with a higher concentration of spending or more frequent transactions. Can filter this by month or category (e.g., "Show me where I spent on 'Dining' last month") to see exactly which locations carry the most weight in your budget.
• Market-Wise Budgeting: Instead of just a "Food" budget, users can set a "Regional Budget." (e.g., “Limit my spending in Church Street to ₹5,000 this month”). The app pings you when you enter that geofence and are near your limit.
• Merchant Discovery Layer: A map of local vendors you’ve frequently visited, showing "Loyalty Progress." (e.g., "You are 2 visits away from a discount at this local Kirana").
• The Savings Radar: A live map layer showing where your specific bank cards or UPI app have active "Store-front" offers right now.

Problems This Feature Solves / Improves

• The Merchant Name Mystery: Users often see "ZFC-TRADING-PVT-LTD" on a statement and don't recognize it. A map pin instantly reminds them: "Oh, that was the bakery near the park."
• The commute leak: Small, recurring spends (Chai, snacks, cigarettes, or small tolls) during a daily commute feel insignificant individually. However, they add up to a large sum over a month.
• Localized Inflation Tracking: Helping users see if they are consistently paying more for the same category (e.g., Fuel) in one part of town versus another.
• Fraud Detection: Visualizing a cluster in Bangalore and a random pin in London on the same day makes anomalies much easier to spot than a long list of text.
• Identifying Pricey Pockets: Seeing that you consistently spend 20% more on groceries when you shop near your office vs. near your home.

4. Information Architecture and user flows (rough)

---

Idea 1: Indian addresses are often difficult to navigate. Behind the temple, near the blue gate, third house on the left is a real instruction that google Maps cannot figure out.
Delivery people often waste minutes and hours looking for hidden apartment entrances, specific building numbers in dark complexes, or the correct service elevator.
A Last 50-100 Feet map that can be integrated into quick commerce, food delivery apps which provides hyper-accurate entrance data to arrive at the location.

Idea 2: Remote workers waste hours cafe hopping because they arrive at a location only to find there are no outlets, the Wi-Fi requires a local phone number, or it’s too loud for a meeting.
A app that caters to such people that uses real-time crowdsourced data to map cafes based on essential remote-work metrics.

Idea 3: Finding parking in Indian residential-cum-commercial areas especially in places like Bangalore is nearly impossible. Meanwhile, thousands of private driveways and office slots sit empty during the day.
The concept is like an AirBnb for Indian Parking Slots where a homeowner can list their empty parking spot and a commuter sees this on a map and can book.

[Srvsh99]

Chalo is a public transportation app that improves the daily bus travel experience by providing real-time bus tracking, live arrival times, route planning and digital ticketing. With an interactive map interface, users can see where their bus is on the map, check estimated arrival times, and buy mobile bus tickets or passes directly within the app, helping commuters plan and manage their bus journeys more conveniently.

Pain Points / Opportunities :
• The application currently relies on Google Maps as its underlying mapping infrastructure. This presents an opportunity to explore the design of a proprietary mapping system that could offer greater control, customization, and transit-specific contextualization.
• Traffic conditions are not explicitly represented within the map interface, which may limit users’ ability to anticipate delays and understand real-time route congestion.
• Real-time contextual information such as road closures, construction activities, or traffic incidents is not integrated into the interface, reducing situational awareness during route planning and live tracking.
• Estimated Time of Arrival (ETA) information could be more effectively communicated by displaying it directly alongside individual buses, enabling faster comprehension and informed decision-making.
• The visual affordance indicating the direction of bus movement lacks sufficient prominence, suggesting a need for improved visual hierarchy and directional clarity.

[ShreyaDan]

Ideas for Map in App

Idea 1
Finding Informal & Temporary Parking Spaces
In dense Indian neighbourhoods , parking demand far exceeds formal supply.
While space exists inside homes, offices, societies, shops, and vacant plots it remains fragmented, offline, and inaccessible to outsiders.
As a result:

• Drivers circle endlessly
• Streets get illegally occupied
• Private spaces sit unused for large parts of the day

How Might We

• How might we use maps to make informal, temporary parking in Indian cities feel clear, legal, and stress-free for both drivers and space owners?
• How might we design a map-based system that replaces uncertainty, negotiation, and risk in urban parking with clarity, trust, and control?

The Idea is to come up with a service within an existing app that helps users find usable parking in “random” but socially accepted spaces legally safe, time-bound, and crowd-validated.

The Target:

1. Urban car drivers (ages 25–50) in Indian Tier 1 & Tier 2 cities making short, purpose-driven trips in dense neighborhoods.
2. Space providers, such as:

• Small shop owners
• Clinics
• Housing societies
• Homeowners with unused parking slots during certain hours

The Purpose

1. Individuals or small establishments to list underused private parking spaces (garage, portico, shop frontage, society visitor slots).
2. Car drivers to discover, reserve, and pay for short-term parking through a map-first interface

Existing Apps

• Park+ – Focuses mainly on commercial parking, FASTag, and gated societies
• Get My Parking – Enterprise-level parking management
• Google Maps – Shows parking availability only in limited areas and does not support booking
• Pay-and-park municipal systems – Fragmented and poorly integrated

### Map (Default State)
Map opens centred on current location
Nearby parking spots visible as pins
Pins are color-coded by reliability / trust
Roads and lanes visible for context

The Research:

[Mriinmoy-Design]

NEW IDEAS

01
HOME COOKED MEAL FINDER

Problem
People living alone or travelling often struggle to find affordable, home-style meals that are comforting, while many home cooks lack a safe way to share their food locally.

Solution
A map-based platform that connects people with trusted nearby home cooks for warm, home-cooked meals and real human connection.

How the Map Helps
The map matches eaters and cooks by location and time while protecting privacy, and builds trust through verifications.

---

02
BUILDING CONNECTIONS OVER COOKING AND EATING

Problem
People crave genuine connections but dislike awkward social apps, while cooking alone often feels repetitive and isolating in modern city life.

Solution
An app that brings small groups of strangers together to cook one simple meal/potluck in a shared kitchen/space, turning cooking into an easy, low-pressure social experience.

How the Map Helps
The map matches people within a walkable radius and suggests the most convenient shared kitchen, making every meet-up feel effortless, fair, and safe.

---

03
TIME KILLING

Problem
People often find themselves with small pockets of time while waiting for a friend, early for a meeting, missed bus, killing time between classes and end up mindlessly scrolling, unable to find simple, free ways to spend those minutes meaningfully.

Solution
A map-based app that shows nearby spots to relax, wander, or people-watch, helping users make the most of short breaks with or without spending money.

How the Map Helps
The map filters places by distance and time available, guiding users to free, low-effort spots they can reach and enjoy within minutes.

---

04
NOTHING TO DO

Problem
In a culture obsessed with productivity, people struggle to find spaces where they can rest without guilt or pressure to perform.

Solution
A map-based app that highlights calm, safe places to simply sit and do nothing, giving users permission to slow down and be present.

How the Map Helps
The map surfaces quiet, low-stimulation zones and adds context like noise and crowd levels, helping users choose the best place to pause and unwind.

---

---

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OLD IDEA

Finding out the best business rental space

The Problem: Small businesses often fail because they pick locations based on guesswork or expensive, outdated reports.

MVP Idea: A Success Map that combines history, foot traffic, web search trends, and social media chatter to give every vacant shop a 0–100 score, proving a location's profit potential before you sign the lease.

[Aakash1907]

Idea 1

Beyond the Maps

Explorers, trekkers, and nature enthusiasts often venture into forests and remote landscapes where conventional maps fall short. Standard navigation apps focus on roads, landmarks, and signages that are largely irrelevant or unavailable in the wild
As a result, exploration becomes risky, knowledge remains fragmented, and valuable trail insights are not shared with the community.

Design Goal

To design a map-centric exploration app that goes beyond navigation, helping explorers stay oriented, informed, and safe, while enabling them to collectively grow a living map of the wild.

Idea 2 -- Gel-In

Problem Statement

Moving into a new city is rarely just a logistical challenge—it is an emotional one. While existing platforms help people find houses based on rent, commute, or amenities, they fail to address a more personal question:

“Will I belong here?”

Different neighbourhoods carry different energies—quiet or lively, creative or corporate, communal or private. Today, people are forced to discover this through trial and error, often after moving in. As a result, many end up feeling disconnected, isolated, or misaligned with their surroundings despite having “everything they need” on paper.

Design Opportunity

To reimagine city maps as tools for emotional and social alignment, not just navigation—
helping people choose neighbourhoods that resonate with their personality, lifestyle, and leisure preferences.

"A map that helps you find not just a house in a new city, but a neighbourhood where you truly belong."

Idea 3 -- Inventory Hunt

Finding a specific product in a city is often more frustrating than expected. While maps can show where shops are, they cannot tell whether the product is actually available.

People frequently:

• Travel to multiple nearby stores only to discover the item is out of stoc
• Waste time, energy, and fuel based on assumptions rather than certaint
• Rely on phone calls or guesswork, especially for niche or urgent purchases

This disconnect exists because store inventories are isolated, fragmented across individual shop databases, with no shared visibility for customers.

Design Opportunity

To bridge the gap between physical retail and real-time information,
by turning maps into live inventory discovery tools rather than static store locators.

How the Map Solves the Problem

Item-first mapping:
The map highlights products, not just shops.

Proximity-aware results:
Surfaces the closest available option in real time.

Stock confidence indicators:
Reduces uncertainty before travel.

Local-first discovery:
Encourages nearby purchases instead of defaulting to large online marketplaces.

Idea 4 - TVS Connect app - Redesign

https://www.figma.com/board/JwAUERe73JEEVmtfCTyHW4/TVS-app-ideation?node-id=25-653&t=OIJUM69I93WjXeJL-0

The TVS X Conncect app is an app provided by TVS on its bikes with x connect feature. The app has a potential to understand the rider's riding patterns and tailor the trip suggestions, products and so on, but never grabbed this opportunity. The goal is to try and unlock the full potential of having such a companion app connected to one's ride.

Add Ons-

Nearest service centers
Road side assist
Trip setting
Traffic and weather details, eyeing rider safety.
Ride summary, driving patterns and suggested routes.
Near by riders in terms of trips.

Roadblock - GeoJSON File issue. Tried creating the file for additional layer on the custom map in mapbox, 2 routes and required places/ points with coordinate values.

[kry0lite]

Idea 1 : Project: VIA
1. APP Overview

The Problem

Standard navigation is built for cars, not people. It forces every pedestrian to follow the same "fastest" blue line, which completely ignores the human experience of walking.

Speed Over Vibe: Current apps don’t account for safety, mood, or scenery.

Visual Clutter: Maps are crowded with car-centric data and labels that distract from the environment.

Instructional, Not Intuitive: Users have to translate their personal needs into a generic search query.

The Solution

VIA is a navigation app that focuses on Intentional Routing. It replaces the "one-size-fits-all" path with dynamic routes that match how a user actually wants to move through the city.

Mode Selection: Instead of just a destination, users choose a "Path Type" based on their current needs:

    Scenic (Peach): Routes through parks and greenery.

    Safe (Mint): Highlighting well-lit, active streets for night walks.

    Efficient (Blue): The direct, purposeful path.

Contextual AI: An integrated layer that looks at the time of day and environment to recommend the best route before the user even has to ask.

2. Target Audience

VIA is for urban pedestrians who view walking as an experience rather than just a commute.

Night Walkers: _People (especially women or students) navigating unfamiliar or dimly lit areas who prioritize well-lit, active streets._

Mindful Commuters: _Urban professionals or locals who want to decompress by taking the "pretty way" home._

City Explorers/Tourists: _Users who want to discover a city’s greenery and architecture without following a rigid, commercial tour._

3. Competitors & Map Usage

Google/Apple Maps: _The "Utility" standard. They use maps to show traffic and the absolute fastest time. They are car-first and treat the "walking" layer as an afterthought._

Strava/Komoot: _The "Performance" standard. They use maps to track elevation and calories. They are great for exercise but don't account for urban "vibe" or safety._

Citymapper: _The "Transit" standard. Focuses heavily on bus/train logic; the walking part is just a bridge between stations._

4. Main Pain Points Solved

The "Blue Line" Trap: _Solving the frustration of being forced down a dark alley or a noisy highway just because it saves 30 seconds._

Safety Anxiety: _Solving the guesswork of "is this street well-lit?" by using real-world lighting and activity data to influence the route._

Screen Fatigue: _Solving "head-down navigation" by using high-contrast, glowing ribbons that are easy to see in the periphery, so you can actually look at the city._

5. Key Capabilities & Prototype Flows

Flow 1: Intent-Based Routing (The Core Feature) _The user enters a destination and a "mood" (e.g., "Home + Scenic"). The map "weaves" the peach ribbon. The prototype will show the transition from a standard map to the minimalist VIA view._

Flow 2: Adaptive Night Safety _The app detects it is 10 PM. It automatically highlights the "Safe" (Mint) route as the primary option, showing paths that stay on main avenues with high foot traffic and open storefronts._

Idea 2 - Five-Minute World

Concept Overview

Five-Minute World is a proposed mode within Google Maps that reimagines walking navigation by showing only what is realistically reachable within five minutes on foot. Instead of presenting the entire city, the map collapses into a human-scale view that reflects immediate possibility rather than distant potential.

The mode shifts Google Maps from destination-first navigation to presence-based understanding, helping users answer a simpler and more human question:
What can I reach from here, right now, on foot?

Google Maps → Social Temperature Mode

How socially intense a place is right now

Google Maps → Micro-Futures Mode

What this place becomes later

[Chipz-02]

Sivaparvathi S

1. Google Maps- In Building Navigation for Malls, Conferences, Exhibitions
   Step-free Routes: Navigation that avoids stairs, prioritizing elevators and ramps.
   Floor Selector: A simple toggle to switch views between different levels.
   Live Crowd Levels: A real-time indicator showing how busy the space is.
   Opening and Closing Times: Operating hours for the main building and individual units.
   Facility Pins: Quick icons for restrooms, help desks, and exits.

2. Lalbagh Botanical Garden- Discover & Educate
   Key Landmarks: Glass House, the Rock, and the Lake.
   Nature Spots: Locations for specific flaura, fauna and sights
   Rest Areas: Benches, shaded seating, and water points.
   Entry and Transport: Main gate locations and internal shuttle stops.

3. Kochi Biennale- Planning Assistance
   Parking Lots: Spots for cars and bikes.
   Venue Connections: Best paths between art galleries and Inside
   Boat and Ferry: Nearby piers and Water Metro stops.
   Daily Plan: Grouping nearby venues to save time.
   Food and Breaks: Local cafes and snack stalls near venues.

4. Explore Locations where movies are shot, Popular Reels, Social media Hotspots (Conceptual- like Reddit Rising)

FIGJAM-https://www.figma.com/board/dKo6t52KKGDDof3aaqlwZ3/Biennale-Brainstorm?node-id=0-1&t=8pjJFUFoMqK907lm-1
TRYING RAPID PROTOTYPING-

[sambit571]

Idea 1

Predictive Traffic Signal in Google Maps

Predictive Traffic Signal that transforms Google Maps from a route-finding tool into a real-time traffic flow optimization system.

Instead of merely showing where to go, it actively guides how to move through signalized intersections by synchronizing driver behavior with live traffic signal phases.

For every upcoming signal, the system calculates:

• Remaining red/green phase time
• Exact distance to traffic light
• Predicted arrival window at current speed

Idea 2
Street food Map app (choosing this one )
Street Food Map is a hyper-local map platform that helps local food enthusiasts find full, hygienic meals. It has real-time availability and fastest-fill routing to eliminate guesswork. The app prioritizes to get delicious local cuisine clusters in a city.

Target Users
College students
Food enthusiast
What it do?
The map, which is integrated in this map, shows clusters of street food of areas in an around city.

Features
It will have must try
New areas found
Discount if you use app to book a coupon

[neharika-2315]

Neharika S

Idea 1
A map-based app for remote workers / digital nomads who are tired of scouting for coffee shops/ co-working places only.
Problem: Most map apps are designed for tourists, leaving nomads to guess if a cafe has reliable Wi-Fi or enough power outlets before they show up

Solution Instead of searching for "cafes for work" you filter by what you actually need: High-speed Wi-Fi, Power Outlet Density, or Quiet Zones.

Map Style: clean map that reduced urban noise and other details to focus only on area wise categorisation of spots, heat maps of where these kind of spots are popular

Map based UI
Pulse Zones (Heatmaps): Color-coded neighborhood overlays. At a glance, you can see which parts of the city are "active" with work-friendly spots versus residential dead zones.

Live Spot Status: A quick-glance sidebar or "Spot Card" showing if a place is currently crowded, if the Wi-Fi was verified in the last hour, and if they have a "laptop-friendly" policy (so you don't get kicked out after one latte)

A 3D map tilt that highlights the specific building. Tapping it shows you a "Workability Score" based on user reviews specifically for remote work. Taller buildings = better workability score (not necessarily height related)

Save my Desk: A personal list of your go-to spots, categorised by the type" of work they’re good for (e.g., Best for Zoom Calls vs. Best for Deep Work).

[kush-a26]

Idea 1: Emergency Care Load Map
Map-based decision support for emergency response routing.
Pain Point: Ambulances and emergency teams route patients to the nearest hospital without visibility into real-time ER load, ICU beds, ventilator availability, or specialist readiness. This leads to uneven hospital overload and treatment delays.
Solution: A city-wide emergency care load map that shows ER crowding, ICU capacity, specialist availability, ambulance positions, and predicted overload zones.
Map Role: Capacity heatmaps across hospitals, severity-based routing (mild to critical), time-based stress propagation, and failure-threshold alerts to help balance patient load across the city.

Idea 2: Intern & Resident Shift Safety Map
A shift-aware navigation and safety map for healthcare workers.
Pain Point: Interns and residents travel at odd hours under fatigue, poor lighting, and closed facilities, while existing map apps ignore shift timings, safety reliability, and exhaustion.
Solution: A map that adapts to duty hours, showing safe routes, open food and rest points, on-call rooms, nearby colleagues, and emergency help locations.
Map Role: Time-of-day safety overlays, fatigue-aware routing, SOS proximity zones, and an automatic “shift mode” that adjusts the map during duty hours.

Idea 3: Patient Dropout Risk Map
Predictive mapping for chronic care continuity.
Pain Point: Patients in long-term treatments drop out due to travel burden, fragmented care locations, financial stress, and missed follow-ups, but healthcare systems lack spatial visibility of these risks.
Solution: A predictive care continuity map that highlights dropout risk zones using travel distance, missed appointments, and socioeconomic indicators.
Map Role: Dropout risk heatmaps, time-lapse disengagement patterns, intervention simulations (mobile clinics, transport support), and optimized care worker routing.

Patient risk mapping