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Books Can Take You Places by Max Reyes

Books Can Take You Places by Max Reyes

Design Ideas
September 16, 2015
1 Comment

Recently, Visual Communication graduate, Max Reyes found herself hanging out in bookstores and impulsively buying books. Since she had quite a lot of time on hand, she decided to make a personal project about how these hardbound stories influence a person’s view of the world.

Design Process
I’ve been fascinated by isometric illustrations these days so I decided to give it a try. It wasn’t as easy as what I’m used to, but I took it as a challenge and went on from there. After sketching out the initial framework of the design, I googled how to prepare an isometric grid. This is a must for someone who’s quite meticulous when it comes to symmetry and organized grids! I also have a thing for maps, so I had a lot of ideas in mind about how the “worlds” should look like. Initially, I wanted them to represent the scenes from my favorite books, but somehow they ended up as random places from some dark corner of my mind.
-Max Reyes

Max Reyes

Inspiration behind the project
The concept was inspired by Neil Gaimain’s lecture on the importance of books and libraries. He mentioned that reading fiction brings us to a different world –a world is made up of our own infinite imagination. This is extremely true. I can recall reading a book for hours and then being dragged into its setting, unconsciously forgetting that I live in a reality with piles of homework and other unsettling obligations.

Max Reyes

Style and Inspiration
I have yet to explore but as of now, my illustrations are composed of geometric vector shapes in bold colors. I’m currently learning how to work with color schemes, and online color palette archives such as Adobe Kuler and Color Hunt have been a great help. As for my inspirations –gosh, there are just too many to mention. When it comes to doing work, my colleagues are my greaest inspiration. Indeed, you grow when you're surrounded with great people. Moreover, I’d say my ultimate illustration hero would be Mary Blair. Her works are timeless. I could stare at her work and never get tired of them.

Max Reyes

Advice
Be an amateur who’s wildly passionate about what you’re doing. Austin Kleon encourages the young creative to pursue his/her work in the spirit of love. Thus, do it for the love of it –not for the money or for the likes. Never be afraid to experiment and try something new. It’s how you learn to discover what you’re truly capable of. Honestly, I myself am still at the stage of trying out new styles and techniques. In fact, I didn’t really expect a lot of heartwarming feedback for this particular piece! It was more of a bonus for me. So get out there and put your ideas into action. It doesn’t matter if it turns out good or bad. What matters is that you came up with something, and that’s better than nothing at all.

Max Reyes

About Max Reyes

Max Reyes is a graphic designer and illustrator from sunny Manila. Fresh out of college, she got her degree in Visual Communication from the University of the Philippines, Diliman. She shows her fondness for food and traveling by illustrating maps in the hope that she could visit those places someday. As a freelancer, she’s currently on an adventure of finding her own style with the ultimate dream of being an influential storyteller.

One comment on “Books Can Take You Places by Max Reyes”

  1. I get it. Books, especially the good ones are able to get you places that you would not normally get to while reading them. The illustrations are very neat and detailed!

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