Mapnaut
Co-founded Hic Locative Media within the TechPeaks accelerator and led the design and prototyping of Mapnaut — a mobile app that turned Twitter into a spatial experience by linking posts to real-world places.
About the project
Mapnaut was a mobile app developed by Hic Locative Media, a startup based in Trento, Italy, focused on location-based storytelling and digital placemaking. The app allowed users to save, annotate, and share places enriched with tweets, comments, and contextual media—aiming to link physical locations to social conversations in real time. The project explored the intersection of mapping, mobile interaction, and ambient social content.
My role
As co-founder of Hic Locative Media, I was involved in defining the product concept and its core features. I contributed to early user experience design and developed the first web-based prototypes used for validating the product idea and guiding mobile development. I collaborated with engineers, designers, and researchers to align the vision with user behavior around location-sharing and mobile media consumption.
Outcome
We successfully delivered a working mobile app that demonstrated the core potential of Mapnaut as a social mapping tool. Despite its early shutdown, the project provided valuable insights into product design, startup operations, and user engagement within geolocated media. The experience helped shape future initiatives and strengthened our understanding of mobile-first interaction design and digital placemaking.
Mapnaut remains a significant chapter in my journey as a designer and entrepreneur, influencing my approach to user-centered design and innovative product development.
The app is no longer available, but its legacy continues to inform my work in location-based services and interactive media.