As an artist coming from Changsha, Hunan, China, I believe illustration is a visual language that is capable of uniquely highlighting my hometown’s cultural preservation with the use of zines, which is a self-published booklet that serves as a powerful narrative tool that can educate and engage readers in an interactive way, as it invites viewers to experience the events taking place in the story. A Weekend Touring Guide of Changsha City is an educational accordion zine booklet that calls attention to cultural preservation, utilizing a combination of map illustrations, comics, character illustrations, and infographics to showcase both tourist and local perspectives for a less misleading, carefully assembled guide for a complete and authentic Changsha experience. This map will be consumer friendly as it is convenient for carrying around the city and efficient advertising material for the positive spread of authentic culture for tourists and locals.

I started out by folding paper to create a zine model to confirm the dimension and how each page interacts with each other. Then a more detailed visual design is created to fill in each page. Once I knew what I wanted to do for each page, I spent more time on finishing each illustration.

The project will be serving as a collectible map for tourists and it adds liveliness and energy to show the unique side of Changsha to people who are visiting for the first time.