Discover Your World | Travel Map of Europe

I designed this project because I wanted a more tactile and permanent way to track my travels than those scratch-off maps you see everywhere. This is the Europe Edition of what I'm calling the Discover Your World series.

The idea is pretty simple: the map starts out entirely black and white. Every time you visit a new region, you pop out the corresponding triangle, flip it over, and snap it back in to reveal the colored side. Over time, your map "wakes up" as you explore more of the continent.

Design and Printing Details

I printed this on my Bambu A1 using the AMS Lite. I spent quite a bit of time working on the geometry and color scheme of the parts to make them easy-to-assemble and satisfying to look at. The tiles are double-sided, so you’ll get the topography on one side and the vibrant land/water colors on the other.

The project is split into three main print plates to make things as organized as possible:

Plate 1: The Pieces This plate contains all the individual triangular tiles. They are designed with a specific thickness to ensure they are easy to flip but won't just fall out on their own. You’ll need four colors for this: black and white for the "unvisited" side, and green and blue for the "visited" side. Of course, feel free to customize these colors to your liking!

Plate 2: The Grid This is the structural lattice that holds everything together. It’s a straightforward print, but I’ve tuned the tolerances so the pieces click together nicely without requiring too much effort.

Plate 3: The Wall Frame This is the backing that gives the map its rigidity. I’ve included integrated mounting holes in the design, so once you’ve snapped the grid into the frame, you can hang the whole thing directly on your wall with a thread, or on a hook.

Assembly

Everything is a friction fit, so you shouldn't need any glue. Just snap the grid into the frame, and then start filling it with your tiles. Black side up for the places you haven't been yet, and colored side up for your past adventures.

If you enjoy the print, I’d love to see a photo of your progress! It's always interesting to see which parts of the map people fill in first :)