CASE STUDY

Paris Field Map: A Concierge in Your Pocket

What I designed

I’m going to Paris in November, and I wanted a map that suits the way I like to move through a city: slowly, with a few good reasons to turn down a side street. I gathered ninety places from my own list, Atlas Obscura and the Ze Paris! list, and set out to make something that feels like a field notebook.

The map is also a working sketch for Vespertine, a travel app I’m designing for people who would rather wander than follow an itinerary. Its central idea is that a good suggestion depends on the moment: how much time you have, how you feel, and what’s open today.

What I explored

I designed it with Claude as my design partner, starting with the mobile screens and a concierge with round glasses and a moustache, then refined the designs in Figma. We built the map on top of OpenStreetMap streets and tested it on my phone one round at a time. The cards at the bottom drag like a carousel and settle with Material’s emphasized easing. Choosing one dims the rest of the map and pulses the chosen pin three times.

The concierge asks one question: how long do you have? Pick an hour, a free afternoon or a surprise, and he winks. Three places then land on the map one by one, joined by a dotted walk. His eyes follow the pin you choose. Places open today glow softly, and a Keep button stamps a place “Gardé,” like a passport.

What I prototyped

The prototype runs as a phone app. On a computer it opens inside an iPhone frame with a QR code. On a phone you can add it to your Home Screen, and it opens full screen with its own icon. Try it here on Netlify.

Next I want to give the concierge real location and live weather, and replace the borrowed photos with my own from the trip.

Streets © OpenStreetMap contributors. Photos: Google Maps contributors.