Hi everyone!
I’m building Qoyra, a note-taking app where information is organized on an artificial map rather than in folders.
I realized how useful maps can be for remembering information while planning mountain hiking routes. I started wondering whether the same principle could help organize notes - not just use locations as memory cues, but use geography itself to structure information.
Here’s how the system works so far:
-Contour lines act like strings, with notes placed along them like beads. Notes can be linked together and moved along a contour as a group.
-Elevation represents abstraction: lower contours hold general information, while higher ones, closer to the peaks, hold more specific ideas.
-Peaks act as landmarks representing projects, topics or research subjects.
Alternatively, contours could represent different types of content — images, links, files, and so on.
Each note’s position is currently defined by two coordinates: its contour level and the nearby peak.
I’m curious whether there are cartographic principles or map designs I could borrow to make this system more intuitive and useful.
How would you use terrain, contours, landmarks or spatial relationships to organize information on an abstract map? Are there any existing cartographic concepts you think could work particularly well?
I’d appreciate any feedback on the current system or examples of maps that use geography in interesting ways.
You can explore the example map here:
https://www.qoyra.app/?share=1f9c5acd47f449dcbca5ea922e9d8907