NZ Travel Booklet

The Process

This publication was a personal project completed in anticipation of a two week caravan adventure up and down the south island of New Zealand (Aotearoa). My goals going into this project were to produce something that communicates a sense of joy, looks aesthetically pleasing as a memento, is convenient to interact with, and encourages the user to slow down and be mindful of the memories they are making.

Scale was an immediate consideration - I wanted the booklet to fit comfortably in the hand, while being large enough to leave space for the user's contribution. To solve this, I referenced the dimensions of an airline boarding pass, an apt piece of inspiration. It was initially my plan to incorporate an outer cover with a sleeve piercing through the spine into the centre spread, which would hold the user's boarding pass and subsequently bind the booklet. For the sake of durability and production timeframe this idea had to be abandoned.

Pastel and natural paper stocks were selected, which played a substantial role in communicating a sense of calm, authenticity, and joy. As always, materiality was a big factor in this project, but what I found interesting abut this instance was the negotiation required between material and layout. Given the saddle stitch binding of this booklet, I was able to alternate pages between natural and pastels through careful consideration. This gave me extra natural coloured spreads at the beginning and in the middle, which then informed the inclusion of the itinerary, travel journal, and free range spreads.