Let’s Work Together→City Guides
A three-part city guide series exploring the history and identity of Hip Hop through New York, Los Angeles and Miami.
A little about the project.
Design a set of city guidebook covers for three cities connected to a chosen music genre. I chose Hip Hop and focused on New York, Los Angeles and Miami, using each city’s music history, visual culture and landmarks to create a connected series with its own identity.
From idea to direction.
I wanted the guides to feel recognisably Hip Hop without relying too heavily on obvious stereotypes. I researched album covers, graffiti lettering, city imagery and symbolism, then used this to build a simple visual system based around bold type, limited colour palettes, hand-drawn lettering and iconic landmarks.
Developing the idea.
I began with mind maps, album-cover research and image collages for each city, then moved into sketching layouts and experimenting with different graffiti-inspired lettering styles. I developed my own hand-drawn alphabet so the city names could feel consistent while still having an expressive, handmade quality. I also explored star imagery as a recurring symbol, alongside landmarks such as the Statue of Liberty and Griffith Observatory. During development, I originally considered Atlanta, but the visual direction was not working as strongly, so I replaced it with Miami to create a more balanced set.
The finished result.
The final series uses a shared visual language while giving each city its own character. New York became The Origins, Los Angeles The Rise, and Miami The Heat, with each cover using bold illustration, hand-drawn typography and a restricted colour palette to connect the cities back to Hip Hop culture. The project helped me understand how research can inform a visual system without overwhelming the final design.
Seen enough?
There’s more where that came from.
Let’s make something good.
Available for freelance work and open to junior design opportunities.