Exercise: Travel guides

The brief is to produce three illustrations for a series of book jackets at the size of an existing travel guide, for the locations: Istanbul, Helinski and Milan. The client would like the illustrations where many elements are brought together in a diagrammatic way and the type to be hand-drawn.

The aim is to provide client visuals for all three covers and a mock up for one.

So the first step is looking at examples and gaining an understanding of each of these locations:-

In lonely planet Istanbul is described as a magical meeting place of East and West. It therefore has a diverse heritage and influenced by past ruling armies of Greeks, Romans and Venetians. The city straddles two continents at the final stage of the Silk Road linking Asia with Europe. In terms of architecture the notable features are mosaics & frescoes of Byzantine era and decorated imperial mosques of the Ottomans. Visitors can sample Asian, Italian dishes and the succulent kebaps. The locals are known for a an infectious love of life and generosity of spirit. A vibrant, inclusive, expanding community blending tradition and modernity into their daily lives.

Helinski is the capital of Finland – a country famed for its streamlined, functional, stylish design. There is a design museum in Helsinki and a design district full of boutiques, workshops, and galleries of glassware, textiles and innovative homewares. Finlands art-nouveau movement and National Romanticism has provided a legacy of buildings from this era eg Helsinki’s train station (1919). Functionalism, wooden architecture, Byzantine-Russian, neo-Renaissance and neoclassical styles are all within the city’s fabric.

Helsinki holds an historic covered market. This with plenty of restaurants ensures supplies of fish (salmon/arctic char), forest mushrooms, berries (lingonberries, cloudberries), herbs etc.

Helsinki in the Baltic is surrounded by beautiful natural environment easily accessible from the city so there is plenty to explore , strolling along beaches, through parks and gardens or hiking in the forests. In the winter, snow blankets the city, the sea freezes and there is the opportunity for ice skating and cross country skiing.

The above is an photo in Rome from Lonely Planet however it provides an Italian feel for this paragraph about Milan.

Milan has an ancient and fascinating history ruled by Caesars, Napolean, the Austro-Hungarians and Mussolini. Today the city leads the way in post-war re-development in Italy. In addition to art deco and nationalist architecture, it contains a treasure trove of 20th century art. 1930’s Milan holds particular influence in Italian design which is world renowned.

In terms of cuisine Milan combines Mediterranean fruits, spices and herbs and the pastry techniques and eating styles from France and central Europe.

At a glance the points to represent each city I would like to demonstrate in the visuals are:-

Istanbul – ancient history

Helsinki – mixture of architecture in terms of age, activity & exercise

Milan – art deco, design mix and cuisine.

Establishing the Brief:-

Produce three illustrations for a series of book jackets for the cities of Istanbul, Helsinki, Milan (2 as visuals, one as mock up).
Size to be approximately landscape A4 which can be folded as a travel guide if necessary.
Different elements are to be brought together in a diagrammatic way
Type is to hand-drawn in an appropriate style to the drawings
Choose 3 or 4 places/elements for each location to create a collage effect
Incorporate at least one element that gives a sense of character to the location.

A decision is made to refer to the collage style of Abigail Reynolds who bases her work on spacial collages. Abigail forms her work from images of landscapes and often takes photos directly out of books manipulating them to reframe how we understand the space.

I am hoping this approach may invoke a fresh response from seasoned travellers and renew their interest in a location.

Istanbul Collage

Choosing three images from Ara Guler’s book which consists of amazing photographs from the 1950’s:-

The roof shapes and towers provide the character and ancient dimension I am looking for and this photograph below is the patterning and design in a gateway . Photocopying onto crimson paper adds warmth and almost older tones:-

Working with this imagery I can align rooftops, develop a welcoming entrance, repeat the patterning, ancient architecture, arches and the “hidden” window beneath the roof top adds an element of mystic. The tall tower leans a little however do not intend to include it in the final imagery as there are already sufficient combined elements:

Experimenting on the computer to find a text with an ancient script I am choosing Matura MT Script.

And here is the line visual for the travel guide to Istanbul:-

Helskinki collage

Choosing three/four images from Gary Jones’ book “The Best of Helsinki”

Modern tower block and tram:-

The Statue of Emperor Alexander the second at the front facade of Helsinki Cathedral (Called the Lutheran Cathedral as it resembles a Greek cross with four pieces of equilateral arms. It’s a distinctive landmark in Helsinki because of its tall dome that is surrounded by smaller domes).

It is good to work with black and white taking into account the colder climate. I add a tree and cross country skier from a magazine and work on red backing so the collage stands out. There is some struggle with the placing of the tram. It does not look quite right between the buildings.

So I use the other tram photo and “concertina” the collage to close the gap where the previous tram was. This links the buildings which are joined old and new as I had hoped to achieve.

For Helsinki, the Jokerman text is suitable with the sparkly additions and fun feel:-

And here is the line visual for the Helsinki travel guide:-

If I were to change anything on this visual I might think about drawing the skier travelling in the opposite direction, facing right although generally I am quite pleased with how the elements in this visual have been included and are working together.

Milan collage

Mostly referring to the ” 500 Hidden secrets of Milan” by Silvia Frau. A typical Piazza:-

Lovely blue modern buildings:-

Cuisine in Milan with art deco arch:-

Finally a collage completed. The overall result is to welcome the tourist as a guest to Milan to sample the cuisine and appreciate the varied architecture of Italian style and modern influences of today.

Text with a Roman/Latin feel for Milan, Harlow Solid Italic (the leading serifs remind of the curves on the pillars )

And the line visual for the Milan travel guide:-

I like the idea of perspective in this image which I feel would add another dimension of interest and so decide to choose this visual of Milan to progress to the Mock up for a book cover placing the word welcome more directly on the archway.

Colour is added in felt tip:-

And adding some water colour:-

If I were to alter anything on this book cover I would move the base of the door further out to align the perspective further. I did try do this however it made too much of a mark so it was best left. I would also slant the top of the window with the three decorative curls on top so that it is more in line with the slant of the roof and top of the square window next to it., I might also have placed fewer bowls on the table as it is already quite a “busy” image.

So here as a book cover after making the decision to simplify the tableware and remove the chair as it looked a little “solo” and seemed to “block” the imagery. I think this more open aspect looks more welcoming:-