Google Maps — Place panel

Maps & SearchSee it livegoogle.com

The entire product is a full-bleed map with one fixed-width panel floating on top of it — every piece of chrome, including the category filters, is an island resting on the canvas rather than a layout region that resizes it.

Google Maps — Place panel — captured interface — Page excerpt · scroll inside to explore

Source capture · 2026-08-01Open full image ↗

Search & discovery

Why this pattern works

The place-detail panel: hero photo, title, then a row of five identical circular icon buttons with a label under each (Directions, Save, Nearby, Send to phone, Share) — a clean, reusable 'primary actions for an entity' component for any detail view. Also the floating pill filter row sitting directly on the map with no background bar behind it — filters as free-floating chips, not a toolbar.

Design notes

Surface: Place search result for 'New York', logged out, default map view
Navigation: Two tiers, both floating over the map rather than framing it. A slim icon-only rail on the far left (Saved, Recents, a pinned-location tab, Get app) with no visible labels beside the icons, just centered icon-and-caption stacks. Beside it, a search-and-detail panel that behaves like an application in its own right.
Layout: The map is the entire canvas, full bleed, edge to edge. Two floating panels sit on top of it on the left (icon rail plus search/detail panel), and a floating pill row of category filters sits on top of it along the top edge. Nothing pushes or resizes the map — panels overlay it and collapse via a chevron without moving the map underneath.
Density: Loose. The panel has real breathing room between the hero photo, the action icons and the text blocks. The map itself carries standard road-map density, only getting busier at higher zoom.
Color: White panels on a pale beige/grey map by default; colour is reserved for state and category, not decoration — teal-blue for primary actions (the Directions circle, Sign in buttons), purple for point-of-interest labels, red/orange dotted overlays for specific area boundaries. The map's own road/water colour coding is left untouched by the UI sitting on top of it.
Type: One sans throughout, in both the panel and the map labels. The place title is the only large type (~28px bold); action-icon captions are tiny (~11px); quick-facts body copy runs ~14px regular with a '...More' truncation link instead of wrapping fully.
Pattern: The five-icon action row under the place title: identical filled circular icon buttons, evenly spaced, each with a one-word label centered beneath it. It generalizes to any 'primary actions for an entity' panel — swap the five verbs and the component is reusable as-is.
States: Logged out: two separate soft-grey notice boxes stack under the quick facts — one flagging a 'limited view' with a Learn more link, one an explicit 'Get the most out of Google Maps' pitch with its own Sign in button. The product still fully functions (search, directions, save) before authentication; the notices inform, they don't block.
Don't: Don't put a background bar or container behind the top category-filter pills — they're meant to read as floating directly on the map, and adding a toolbar strip behind them would visually merge them with the map's own top edge instead of feeling like an overlay.

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# My project
[Describe the product, audience, and screen you want to improve]

Stack: Use the existing project stack
Task: Implement the interface and verify the result in the existing project.

## Tool guidance (Any AI tool)
Use available project tools to inspect, implement, and test. State any unavailable capabilities.

# Design reference: Google Maps — Place panel
Source: https://www.google.com/maps
Swipefile reference: https://swipefile.design/ref/google-maps/
Captured: 2026-08-01. This is a dated reference, not a claim about the current live product.
Capture scope: a page excerpt. Do not infer unseen sections or interactions.

## Objective
Adapt the interaction and layout patterns below to my project. Use my own content and identity. Do not reproduce logos, proprietary copy, or brand assets.

## Reference notes
- surface: Place search result for 'New York', logged out, default map view
- nav: Two tiers, both floating over the map rather than framing it. A slim icon-only rail on the far left (Saved, Recents, a pinned-location tab, Get app) with no visible labels beside the icons, just centered icon-and-caption stacks. Beside it, a search-and-detail panel that behaves like an application in its own right.
- layout: The map is the entire canvas, full bleed, edge to edge. Two floating panels sit on top of it on the left (icon rail plus search/detail panel), and a floating pill row of category filters sits on top of it along the top edge. Nothing pushes or resizes the map — panels overlay it and collapse via a chevron without moving the map underneath.
- density: Loose. The panel has real breathing room between the hero photo, the action icons and the text blocks. The map itself carries standard road-map density, only getting busier at higher zoom.
- color: White panels on a pale beige/grey map by default; colour is reserved for state and category, not decoration — teal-blue for primary actions (the Directions circle, Sign in buttons), purple for point-of-interest labels, red/orange dotted overlays for specific area boundaries. The map's own road/water colour coding is left untouched by the UI sitting on top of it.
- typography: One sans throughout, in both the panel and the map labels. The place title is the only large type (~28px bold); action-icon captions are tiny (~11px); quick-facts body copy runs ~14px regular with a '...More' truncation link instead of wrapping fully.
- pattern: The five-icon action row under the place title: identical filled circular icon buttons, evenly spaced, each with a one-word label centered beneath it. It generalizes to any 'primary actions for an entity' panel — swap the five verbs and the component is reusable as-is.
- states: Logged out: two separate soft-grey notice boxes stack under the quick facts — one flagging a 'limited view' with a Learn more link, one an explicit 'Get the most out of Google Maps' pitch with its own Sign in button. The product still fully functions (search, directions, save) before authentication; the notices inform, they don't block.
- dont: Don't put a background bar or container behind the top category-filter pills — they're meant to read as floating directly on the map, and adding a toolbar strip behind them would visually merge them with the map's own top edge instead of feeling like an overlay.

Useful for: The place-detail panel: hero photo, title, then a row of five identical circular icon buttons with a label under each (Directions, Save, Nearby, Send to phone, Share) — a clean, reusable 'primary actions for an entity' component for any detail view. Also the floating pill filter row sitting directly on the map with no background bar behind it — filters as free-floating chips, not a toolbar.

## Acceptance criteria
- Existing project conventions, design tokens, working functionality, and unrelated changes are preserved.
- Two or three reference principles clearly support the user's task; conflicts are resolved in favor of usability and the existing product.
- Reusable components and semantic HTML express the interface. Available licensed assets are used; important UI text is never rendered as a bitmap.
- Every visible control has a defined behavior. Loading, empty, error, success, disabled, and long-content states are specified where relevant. Demo data is clearly labeled.
- Navigation and content adapt at 375px, 768px, and 1440px without horizontal page overflow. Keyboard use, visible focus, labeled inputs, at least 44px touch targets, readable contrast, and reduced motion are supported.
- Verification distinguishes rendered behavior from proposals and identifies anything still requiring a backend or external service.

## Quality bar
Clear hierarchy, consistent spacing, restrained surfaces, and purposeful motion. Avoid decorative gradients, excessive cards, placeholder buttons, and invented metrics unless the project calls for them. Do not claim a feature is connected or tested without evidence.

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## Objective
Adapt the interaction and layout patterns below to my project. Use my own content and identity. Do not reproduce logos, proprietary copy, or brand assets.

Google Maps — Place panel

Make it your own

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