Start from questions, not from the site plan
Before drawing anything, write down what people will ask at the info point. The map has to answer those questions in a tap or two.
- Where is the stage, the bar, the toilets, first aid?
- What is on now, and what is next?
- How do I get from the camping to the main stage?
- Where do I meet my friends?
- How do I get out, and to the shuttle?
Draw for a phone at night
Most map use happens on a small screen, often after dark. A dark theme with strong contrast is easier on the eyes and on the battery.
Keep the overview calm: icons instead of long labels, nearby places merged into clusters, names shown when people zoom in. Tap targets should be big enough for a thumb.
Name places the way people say them
If the sign at the stage says “Hangar”, the map and the programme must say “Hangar” too — not “Stage 3”. One name per place, everywhere: signs, programme, map, announcements.
Group places into a few categories people understand at a glance: stages, food, bars, toilets, first aid, camping, exits.
Put the programme on the map
A programme in a separate app forces people to switch back and forth. When each stage on the map shows what is on now and next, the map becomes the programme.
Use festival time for everything, whatever the phone’s time zone, and decide how sets after midnight are shown: as the last part of the evening before, not as the next day.
Plan for no network
Mobile networks struggle when a whole crowd is in one place. A map that works offline after the first visit avoids blank screens.
Ask people to open the map once before they arrive — in the ticket email or the pre-event newsletter — and put QR codes at the gates for everyone else.
Keep a channel for the unexpected
Weather, a delayed set or a closed path: some messages must reach everyone now. Alerts on the map reach people who are looking at it anyway.
Agree with the safety team which exits and assembly areas the map shows in an evacuation, and test the routes with stewards.
Test on site, on real phones
Before the gates open, walk the main routes with the map in hand: gate to main stage, camping to toilets, any stage to first aid. Check every name against the signs and fix what does not match.