On Going Home
My thesis, "On Going Home", is a travelogue that explores the concept of hometowns to prompt both interviewees and readers to rediscover hometowns around America.
I set out on this project with the intention of exploring traveling in a more personal and authentic sense than traditional travel guides. I interviewed 25 WashU students from around the country and the world and ultimately selected six to explore in depth though the book. Each chapter focuses on an individual and guides the audience through a town using the narrative and life story of that specific person rather than utilizing a more traditional travel guide structure.
The project aims to create a feeling of nostalgia and longing for home in order to reconnect people to their hometowns and to create a Going West age excitement about the undiscovered hometowns around the country. My goal to create these feelings directly influenced my inspiration and design decisions. I drew on Americana art, Route 66 imagery, Wood Type posters and old travel postcards. My concept visually plays out through the use of this historic inspiration combined with modern layout and color use which mirrors the revival of “Going West” excitement I aimed to create. In order to focus on the intimate and authentic aspects of the interviews, I included tear-out travel guide sheets in a leather travel case at the back of the book rather than within the chapters themselves.
My hope was that the book would also encourage my audience to investigate their own hometowns with a fresh perspective and rediscover their interest in our country. The book serves as an intimate reflection on hometowns as well as a functional travel guide.
I was playing with this idea of secret or hidden content since travel guides don’t typically include much negative information; however, I found it key to understanding my interviewees. This content is both hidden but emphasized throughout the book. In the image below, the negative information is called out in the upper left corner in a Monospace typeface.
I was playing with this idea of secret or hidden content since travel guides don’t typically include much negative information about the place though I had a lot from the interivews. This raw and honest content is hidden, yet also emphasized.
