Victionary Guidebooks

When looking for some guidebook inspiration in the library, I came across one of these books by Victionary. I like their unique take on something that's traditionally boring, despite them all following the same layout they all look different. Each book features a bright pop of colour and this colour scheme continues throughout the whole book.  Not sticking to the usual places all guidebooks recommend, Victionary has visited every city they have published a guidebook for so they can write about their own personal experience. Guiding you to the creative scene and lesser known restaurants/ bars, the CITIx60 guidebooks are perfect for those who want a true experience of the city. Each book point you to 60 hangouts loved by 60 starts of the cities's creative scene, from amazing architecture, art shops and markets. All features artists are current in the field they work in.


http://www.victionary.com/shop/page/2/?s=CITIx60&search#038;search




The front cover of this book is very interesting and doesn't give much about the content away. I like the use of layering and the strip of white that runs around the outside of the book to emphasise/ make it easy to see what city the book is about. The illustrations are very intricate and exciting to look at which is consistent throughout the range of CITIX60 books.



The inside of the book follows this peach, grey and navy colour scheme which was visible on the front cover. I think this is a nice touch as it brings the whole book together. The handwritten text at the top of the page gives it a more personal feel which is fitting as the book is based on their own experience of each specific city. Having information to read before you visit the place is also very useful as it gets you ready and helps plan your trip.





Breaking things down into a top 10 makes it easy for the reader as they can just skim through it quickly. The illustrations also make the page fun  to look at as they give you some sort of insight into what London is like and what to expect. Again the colour scheme is repeated with just small hints of peach being used in the illustrations.




The peach paper is repeated here along with 5 other colours which are associated with the individual categories found in the book.



The introduction to each section is set out really nicely and gives a brief introduction into what they reader can expect. However I don't find it unusual enough and feel it could be done in a more unique style like the beginning of the book is.



The inside pages are again a bit of a let down as they are very stereo typical of a guidebook. I think the beginning of the book is a lot stronger in terms of design than the rest of it which is a shame.



However it does still have some nice features such as the maps included in the back which are very simplistic but also typing with the colours used for each category in the book.




It also contains a few pages for notes which I think is a useful thing to have as when you visit a place you often notice things you want to remember for next time such as nice hotels, restaurants and shops.