Victor Horta bookletNOVEMBER 2024
For this project, I had to create an informative booklet on an architect while experimenting with both the physical makeup of the book, as well as the design layouts. The architect I chose was Victor Horta, who is credited for starting the Art Nouveau movement in Belgium.
THE PROCESS:
MOODBOARD:
ILLUSTRATIONS:
In researching for this project, I mainly focused on looking into Victor Horta’s architecture, Art Nouveau architecture and graphic design, as well as different experimental methods that I could include in my book that contributed to the Art Nouveau style. I thought that the use of gold foil, paper cutouts, and a stained glass window effect would be the best way to highlight the unique Art Nouveau style without distracting viewers from the beauty of Horta’s architecture.
I did a lot of research on graphic designs/illustrations from the Art Nouveau period and imitate some of the more famous ones. I only did a few and scattered them throughout the book in order to add to the Art Nouveau style of this book, without taking away from the architecture.
FINISHED SPREADS:
For the front and back covers, I was inspired by Art Nouveau graphic design posters that contain decorative borders. I wanted to pay tribute to these in an experimental way, so I decided to make these borders into cutouts and have a decorative illustration peep through the cutouts. This created a really interesting effect, and I think that this pays tribute to the Art Nouveau posters in a way that makes this booklet more interactive.
SECOND SPREAD:
For the second spread, I included a couple of cutouts on the border, as well as two stained glass windows that flip to the side to reveal Horta’s real works. I also added some gold foil along the gold staircase, as well as the gold swirl on the left. I think these elements accentuate his work without being too distracting for the viewer.
FRONT AND BACK COVERS:
FIRST SPREAD:
I kept this spread pretty simple, just focusing on one of Horta’s most famous staircases from Hotel Tassel. I included some gold foil along the gold swirls to accentuate them, along with a small cutout in the bottom right corner to add to the decorative border theme within Art Nouveau.
THIRD SPREAD:
For this page, I decided I wanted to include more of Horta’s famous works, so I created an illustrative timeline to give a brief overview of his most notable works. I also kept this page simpler, just having the cutout and a few spots of gold foil that accentuated the gold swirls in the background. The swirls came from the staircase on the first spread.