One of the biggest novelties in tTravel 2.0 is the Scratch Map. Of course, it’s not a big innovation. Most of our competitors already have a similar feature implemented. But remember what I said in our article about building a travel app in wartime? Competitors enjoy numerous advantages. To stand out, we needed to push boundaries and approach familiar features with bold creativity.
The mission was clear: create a map so distinctive and unexpected that users wouldn’t mistake tTravel for anything else on the market.
If you prefer video format, here’s a video about our scratch map creation:
Threads
I came up with that idea to merge the Scratch Map with Me, our mascot, in a gamified way. This involved threads growing from Me’s head and extending to the map, coloring countries that users added to their Plans or Memories. The concept sounded fun and innovative, but execution proved challenging.
At first, we projected the threads on top of the map, ending in geo pins at their tips. It worked for a few countries, but once entire continents were colored, the map became a chaotic tangle of lines that almost made us abandon the whole threads concept. Just look at this mess:
We were really having a hard time finding the solution. However, a collective brainstorming effort saved the day:
- Thinner Threads & Lower Opacity: Making the threads less intrusive visually.
- Switching Layers: Moving the threads to the back layer, hiding them under the map.
- Replacing Geo Pins with Dots: Simplifying the endpoints for a cleaner look.
Through these adjustments, the concept evolved into a polished and functional feature.
However, the best part of the threads feature, to my mind, is that they are actually alive! This was another great idea by Kedri. By integrating the smartphone’s accelerometer, he made the threads “alive,” swinging side to side as users tilted their phones. This hypnotic motion added a playful, dynamic element to the app, significantly increasing session lengths.
By the way, if you’re interested in the hidden senses behind the threads, read this article about the concept of our mascot.
Color-Coded Layers: Plans and Memories
At first, we considered an option of having a single layer of the map with different colors. But having one country in both Plans and Memories really turned that version into a confusing mess:
That’s when we came up with the idea of switching the map layer by swiping the cube (Me’s head) in any direction – literally making a turn of the cube shifting the perspective.
As for the colors choice, we decided to color the Plans layer green, as it represents freshness and new beginnings. The Memories layer is colored orange, evoking warmth, vividness, and cherished experiences.
Shades
If you look close enough, you can see that our map layers are not uniform. They have different shades of green and orange. Right now the shades are placed randomly, but in the future it will have an awesome deeper meaning! Future updates will tie shades to time:
- Brighter shades for recent additions: Reflecting vivid, fresh experiences.
- Fading shades for older entries: Mirroring the nostalgic fading of old photographs.
Inspired by polaroid photography, this feature adds a temporal dimension to the map, making it a living archive of your travels.
This was another awesome idea proposed by Kedri. Indeed, all co-founders put their share of creativity into the concept!
Future Plans
We’re just scratching the surface of the map’s potential. Here’s what’s coming next:
- Shaded Logic: Implementing the temporal shading system for a deeper storytelling experience.
- Full-Screen Mode: A feature that will take the Scratch Map to a new level. Unlike competitors, this mode will allow users to mark only the specific areas of a country they’ve visited, not just the entire territory. While details are under wraps, we promise a feature that will set tTravel apart even further.
The Scratch Map in tTravel 2.0 is more than a feature—it’s a creative statement. From its interactive threads to its meaningful colors and dynamic layers, every detail reflects the collective creativity of our team.
With more exciting updates on the horizon, we’re committed to ensuring tTravel continues to stand out as a unique and immersive travel companion. Stay tuned as we keep redefining the journey!
By: Artem Shambalov