A book celebrating the legendary Victorian naturalist, explorer, and environmentalist Alfred Russel Wallace.
Wallace
Co-published by Under the Skin and Another Escape, this 64-page book celebrates the British naturalist-explorer Alfred Russel Wallace.
Rachel Taylor Co-founder of Another Escape"We enthusiastically embarked on a project with Under the Skin to highlight the work of one of the first environmentalists who spoke up against the damage humans were doing to the natural world in the 1870s."
The Brief
- Alfred Russel Wallace was an adventurer, botanist, biologist, and co-discoverer of the theory of evolution alongside Charles Darwin.
- Wallace was also one of the first environmentalists who spoke up against the damage humans were doing to the natural world in the 1870s.
- I led the creative direction of this 64-page bound publication that pays tribute to Wallace's life work and contributions to science.
The Idea
- The book takes readers on a journey through the rainforests of Borneo, accompanied by Wallace as he discovers and collects specimens in his eccentric and curious manner.
- I created illustrations, iconography and infographics to compliment Another Escape's compelling copywriting.
- I laid out the written and visual content in a 10-column grid, adding drop caps and flourishes to the typography, interweaving playful illustrations of Victorian tools and implements.
The Result
- The book was displayed in the 2019 World Illustration Awards alongside a number of other published books by industry leaders in illustration.
- The publication has been shipped around the world, from China to the United States, to accompany each of the Under the Skin screenprints in the Wallace Series.
The details make the design
I used to a 10-column grid to layout the content throughout the book, interweaving spot illustrations of old Victorian tools and specimens from page-to-page.
An adventure awaits
The book takes readers on a journey through the rainforests of Borneo, accompanied by Wallace as he documents species on his travels. The aim was to evoke delight and surprise on every turn of a page.
Visualising data beautifully
Wallace had an eccentric, obsessive and curious approach to his specimen collections. Colourful infographics were used to visualise the staggering amount of species he discovered and collected during his travels.
The result
The colourful publication was displayed at the 2019 World Illustration Awards amongst a range of other shortlisted books and has been shipped around the world to accompany screenprints in the Wallace Series.
