Historic Routes of Arabia

A look back at one of our calendar design and productions with commissioned illustration for the cover. Showcasing the hidden history of Arabia through authentic maps, stories and objects associated with the ancient travel and trade routes of the peninsula. Shortlisted for the British Book Design and Production Awards 2011, this calendar brings together a rich selection of visual resources, maps, history and refined typography.

We did the head-to-toe production – concept development, research, art direction, design and printing. Each unique layout posed the challenge of needing to hold several images; hand-drawn bespoke maps rendered by a specialist cartographer were used to ground the selection of paintings, photography and text. The calendar is printed on a textured paper that mimicked parchment, which is further enhanced by ornamented capitals and typography that lends from lettering found on old maps.