ZAMBEZI DIARY

Publishing. Design and illustration of a diary to produce a small book.

Background

After Bill Hallatt passed away at 93, one of the things he left behind was a hand-written diary of a canoe trip in 1952. This is how we re-told that story.

Cover Illustration
Outlines are rough. Colours are flat.  Readers will fill in the blanks. A sense of mystery is projected. The wide river and the big sky are deliberate. They create a middle-of-nowhere feeling.

The copper-foiled sun brings out the ever-changing colours of the sunset. Its placement is mathematically in the centre of the artwork. Sure, it breaks the text from the adventure, but Bill looks to the sun to govern every decision he makes; it’s central to everything on this trip.

Internal Illustrations
All done by the incredibly talented Lindsay Rossetti. They're individually brilliant and create rhythm and tempo in the most playful way.

Paper 
Bill writes about enjoying the changing sky when fishing. Pinks and blues are a feature of the Zambezi Valley around dusk. They’re not as dominant as the sun that glows a bright copper-orange, but they’re still part of the picture. The diary is a dusty pink to reference those evenings.

Type
The dates are made to look hand-written and the story itself is set in Courier Bold, an imperfect typewriter font. Some letters are too close and some are too far apart. This type pairing is rugged, like the era.

Ink
The text is very dark grey, not black. It is set to 93% black as a nod to the age Bill reached; a nod to his entire life.

Thank you
This has been a privilege and such fun. Vicky and James, thank you for allowing such freedom with a precious part of your lives.