A Guide to Getting Lost

'A Guide to Getting Lost’ was a project created for a DesignWest exhibition promoting unplugging from our hectic everyday working lives as a theme. Using several design mediums, the wild and rugged Connemara landscape is used both as a mode of research and as a source of inspiration.

Inishbofin, a small island off the coast of Ireland, relies heavily on tourism. The project name comes from how people say the island is a place that people come to get lost and find themselves in. This project’s aim is to explore a method of attracting more tourists to the island. The concept involved creating a series of landmarks around the island, which draw on the island’s history and culture.

The main piece was an A5, side-stitched booklet with a foldout A3 map, showing the location people can find out about each landmark around the island in the centre-fold. It was riso-printed using a rigorous 7-colour process, featuring colour offsets. The cover was debossed with the shape of the map. Each page uses modern typography and layouts. The icons for each sculpture were 3D printed and I created a 3D wooden stylised map of the island, with laser etchings of the icons.