Texplora

Category
Cartoville is a series of map centric city guides that aim to combine the physical compactness of a tour guide and spatially arranged information of a map.

Goals, Problems, Needs
While maps are a rich source of information, they are generally too big to be practical for the city tourist. Travel plans are often made on the go. Whether it is on the train or on a airplane, space is precious. 

Solution
To limit the size of the included maps, Cartoville subdivides a traditional city map into six to eight partly overlapping areas. The individual maps determine the chapters which are laid out as individual flip-out maps. Each area map features its own index page organized with common categories such as hotels, landmarks, points and activities of interest. By dividing the city into distinct areas, the density of information is greatly reduced and the selected chapter is likely to contain relevant information as it is based on the reader’s current or imagined proximity. 

Tools, Applications
When using a Cartoville guide, typically the first step is to roughly determine the the starting point for looking up information. is either the traveler’s current origin or the location of a hotel found via overview map. Alternatively the index page of each area contains short articles about the history, points of interest, travel info and more centered around this specific area.

Example, Images, Publisher

Size: 125 x 176 mm
Publisher: Guides Gallimard

Ideas, Thoughts, Relevance
Cartoville’s design addresses a number of  shortcomings of traditional city guides by segmenting its content into spatial districts and categories. This reduces the density of information and increases relevance based on proximity. With the use of a clever fold-out layout the guide overcomes the practical limitations of maps.