Overlap – Rethinking city maps as tools for connection
Overlap explores how a city map can become a tool for encouraging spontaneous connection between strangers. Through visual communication, it asks how everyday urban spaces can support more open and meaningful social interactions. The project was created by extensive research, and reflective prototyping.
Imagine talking to a complete stranger. How do you feel? Scared, nervous, excited, questioning why on earth would I ever do that? The unspoken rules of our society state that if you start talking to a stranger (especially without any intent in mind) there must be something fundamentally wrong with you. My aim was to change this mindset of impromptu conversations, lower the barrier of interaction and encourage connections with complete strangers in person. This project highlights the importance of observation, and the experiences that happen around you when you are not glued to your phone in public spaces.
Nudging young adults back toward everyday encounters by showing them that talking to strangers can be both enjoyable and a source of learning.
The project evolved through repeated testing with the people it was made for. It moved from small-scale experiments to conversation cards, and eventually to maps as a way of rethinking a familiar format and using navigation as a tool for connection. Together with my focus group, the maps were used in everyday life and tested through real interactions, which made it possible to see what was effective and what needed to change.
Each version of the prototypes was refined through feedback from actual users, which shaped the next steps in the project. This process helped me understand that the project was not about creating fixed instructions for social interaction, but about making space for them to happen more naturally. Instead of scripting conversations, the project focuses on encouraging people who already feel some curiosity or openness toward others.
An important insight from the process was that conversations cannot be controlled or fully planned. What matters more is creating the right conditions for connection. For that reason, the project is aimed at young adults who possess the desire to connect with their surroundings, their city, and the people around them.
You can’t script conversations or interactions, all you can do is be intentional and possess the urge to connect with others. My project is not about forcing everyone to talk with strangers, it’s about creating a space where those who personally wish to connect with their surroundings, and new people are able to take the first steps towards it.
In the end, Overlap shows that loneliness is not only caused by physical distance, but also by social barriers that can be softened through intentional design. By shifting the focus from navigation to interaction, the map becomes more than a way of getting from one place to another; it becomes an invitation for connection. The project also shows how small conversations and simple moments of connection can improve mood and create a stronger sense of belonging in the city. Through this process, I learned that visual communication does not need to be completely literal to be effective, and that a city map can be repurposed into a new format that supports social and cultural sustainability.
Ultimately, Overlap demonstrates how we can unmute our cities by simply acknowledging the people around us, since everything big starts by a small step towards real change. Every friend was once a stranger, and the simplicity of saying hello might just be the first nudge toward a more connected and isolated future.
