Old Royal Naval College Guide Book

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My Role
Graphic Designer

Built on the site of Greenwich Palace, this extraordinary building, designed by esteemed architect Sir Christopher Wren, has seen life as both a Royal Hospital and a Royal Naval College. From Henry VIII’s birthplace to Lord Nelson’s resting place, these walls contain a wealth of key historical moments.

To coincide with a new brand rollout, I was commissioned by the Old Royal Naval College to create a guide book for visitors which would give an overview of its 500 year history, including its baroque Painted Hall, often compared to the Sistine Chapel, and—of particular interest to me—its many roles as the location for film productions such as The Crown (2016–2019), Thor: The Dark World (2013), Les Misérables (2012) and Pirates of the Caribbean (2005).

As a small, affordable souvenir, the guide book was limited to 58 pages, and only meant to scratch the surface of the site’s stories. With space at a premium, having elements like section openers would not have been economical. Instead, chapters are differentiated using colours from the organisation’s brand palette. To clearly indicate the start of each chapter, I used full-bleed images, overlaid with a coloured strip and section of a bespoke pattern, all in the chapter’s colour.

The patterns used throughout are stylised versions of ones found in the building’s baroque architecture. House fonts were used; custom versions of Caslon and Caslon Egyptian.