Cultural Book: Belize
Adobe InDesign + Adobe Illustrator
This cultural book was made to help kids learn more about the culture and country of Belize through exploratory activities such as a word search, coloring page, and a recipe. I was inspired by my love of activity books when I was a child and chose to target my cultural books at children aged 8-12. The overall design of this book includes elements seen throughout the culture like the bright colors, textured patterns, tropical plants, coral, and a keel-billed toucan which is their national bird.
Below are a few of the initial sketches for how the book may look. One of the concepts that was scrapped included a more pattern-based design by integrating a traditional pattern throughout the book, rather than just keeping it on one page. The concept that won over this was integrating a toucan throughout the book to be a tour guide through the different aspects of Belize culture.
The activities included are made to capture the attention of the child to get them to comprehend and digest the content they read. For example, the word search was added to the page about Lighthouse Atoll because Lighthouse Atoll is known to be surrounded by the Belize Coral Reef. Just like one would have to search for fish, coral, and other species in the reef, the word search is meant to imitate that action.