Discover Kvadraturen
Turning Kvadraturen into something people explore — not just pass through
Project type
Website
Year
2021
Client
Oslo Kommune
My role
Design Director / Senior Designer
Kvadraturen is one of the most historic areas in Oslo. Rich in culture, architecture, and stories — but often overlooked. Part of Oslo kommune’s initiative to bring more life into the city, the goal was to activate the area and make people explore it. The platform, Discover Kvadraturen, was designed for both locals and visitors. Kvadraturen wasn’t missing content. It was missing a way to be explored.
My Role
I led the concept, experience, and creative direction.
Defined the core idea, including the map-first experience and scroll-driven storytelling
Introduced the 3D illustrated city as the key visual and structural foundation
Developed the Oslo map pattern to clearly position Kvadraturen within the city
Designed the full UX/UI and overall experience
Directed the visual style and illustration approach in collaboration with in-house illustrator.
Worked closely with development to shape motion, transitions, and flow across the experience
Ensured how content, navigation, and storytelling connect seamlessly throughout the platform
Problem
The area had depth.
History, places, and experiences were already there —
but scattered and hard to access.
For most people, Kvadraturen wasn’t a destination.
It was something they passed through.
Insight
You don’t explore places through lists.
You explore them by moving through them.
If people were going to rediscover Kvadraturen,
the experience needed to mirror how a city is explored.
Reframing
Instead of organizing content as pages,
we structured it as a navigable version of the area.
From browsing information →
to exploring a place.
System design
A map-driven experience built from the structure of the real area.
At the center is a 3D illustrated version of Kvadraturen —
not as decoration, but as the interface itself.
Users don’t navigate through menus.
They navigate through the city.
Locations, stories, and content are anchored directly to places —
turning geography into structure.
Supporting layers:
Places
41 locations to explore across the area
Stories
Historical events and contextual narratives
Transitions
Smooth movement between locations and content
From System to Product
Map = Interface
The map defines:
where you go
what you discover
how content is structured
Exploration Loop
Users discover places digitally,
then carry that knowledge into the real world.
The experience bridges:
digital exploration
physical movement
Distribution Layer
Each location exists as a shareable destination.
QR codes placed throughout Kvadraturen link directly into the experience —
turning the city itself into an interface.
Solution — Platform
A visual, exploration-driven platform built around a single idea:
Make the city discoverable.
Available in both Norwegian and English,
making the experience accessible to a wider audience.
User Experience
Users don’t browse.
They explore.
They move through the map, discover places, and dive into stories tied to real locations.
The experience shifts from:
“What can I read?”
to:
“Where should I go next?”
Impact
The platform turns Kvadraturen into a destination.
From:
overlooked → discoverable
pass-through → place to explore
information → action
It doesn’t just describe the area.
It gets people to go there.
Key Insight
Places aren’t discovered through content.
They’re discovered through exploration.
