Guide Book - Content Research

In order to be able to produce a trail around Sapa for the young traveller to be able to soak in all of the culture, I need to present this in a way that breaks the conventions of a typical published trail because mine is not about places to visit, it is about the cultural lessons that can be learnt. 

Lonely Planet: Vietnam Guide Book

At the start of the chapter for Sapa there is a published itinerary (fig. 1) recommendation for a one day or two day trip to Sapa. It is very vague, but concentrates on the things to see, things to eat and places to stay. The detail of every aspect (fig. 2) is the convention that I will need to break in order to show that the itinerary/trail that I am presenting in more about the discovery of culture, rather than what to do as a tourist - information that can be found everywhere. Figure 3 is still very informative as it provides a map to ensure the reader knows exactly where it is they are recommending to go, but it is closer to my concept as it is more visual than the first examples. The book I am designing will be largely visual, but with snippets of information and observations so that the target audience can understand where to go, but with enough gaps that they are still left wanting to go and see it for themselves. 

fig. 1

fig. 2

fig. 3

Hidden Gems of London Trail

This article lists the places to visit in London that are slightly off the beaten track, things that do not often appear on the traditional tourist itineraries. The importance of these places/things staying a bit of a hidden gem is reflected by the amount of information (fig. 4) given on how to get to each of them. There is just enough detail to enable the user to find the areas in which these things are, but still allows for the sense of discovery to remain to the user following this itinerary. 

fig. 4

Alternative London: off the tourist trail 

This article has a chatty and friendly tone of voice that I think engages the target audience of young adults as it is relatable and the fun in which they are trying to find is reflected. Fig. 5 shows a section of the article, the chatty nature of the writing means that it is a little more lengthy than the other examples. I think it is effective how it gives rough location hints, but then tells you to 'look up- see that pipe' etc. This level of engagement with the reader is something that would work with my book. The experience I am trying to promote is one about getting involved with the locals and environment, so this can be reflected by the nature of the interactive content of the book.

fig. 5

Berlin Graffiti and Street Art Tour

This self guided tour is very very detailed and tells the reader exactly where to go and what they will expect to see. This is useful for someone who lacks confidence exploring or wants to be able to know exactly if they will like the tour. But in my opinion, but showing the reader what they will see it takes away the purpose of them doing the tour themselves. This is something I need to carefully consider when finalising the content for my book. It will be important to include images to visually sell the idea of going to Sapa, but the cultural teachings cannot be present constantly throughout or the purpose of the guide will not exist anymore.

fig. 6

The Wander Society: Keri Smith

Wan der

verb \wän-der\

to walk/explore/amble in an unplanned or aimless way with a complete openness to the unknown 

This is a guide to the Wander Society, a secretive group that holds up the act of wandering, or unplanned exploring, as a way of life. This book is interesting because it focuses a lot on how wandering can be used to feed the creative mind, similar to the cultural lessons I learned in Sapa and want to share in my book. I do not think it would be necessary for my book to have a contents page a there are no separate sections in the book, it will be a continuous flow throughout. I like the idea of having an introduction, it would be a nice way to explain the purpose of the book and the friendly start will allow the young travellers reading the book to trust the content. I like the aesthetic of the black and white image, full bleed and then with a simple phrase overlaid. This is something that I will consider when designing the visual appearance of my book as it goes against the conventional guide book which is often overflowing with writing and coloured images. 

Thoughts and feedback:
When talking about the content ideas to others in the class, feedback was given that it may be useful to section the book into the categories of what feelings each part would give you. For example having Reflect, Learn and Experience as the three main categories would allow me to change the tone of voice for each part of the book to suit. In the reflect section I think it would be for questions and short comments to hint at what the reader could be thinking about, based on some of the thoughts I had or have since had. 

The initial stage of this process was to collate all of the images and section them into the 3 categories. This will then allow me to take the content that I have written up and rearrange it, adapt it and make it all flow as one. I will then need to decide on the element of interaction and whether or not the questions alone would work as this element. I have taken the conventions of the guidebook which provides information and changed it to a book that provides things to think about or observations that can be made, rather than directing the reader to visit particular places.