The first guide I looked at was Eye Witness Travel Guides: Rome. I did try and find a Berlin one but there weren't any available in the library. The travel guide has end papers of maps which can be really helpful to the reader. The pages are set out into 3 columns which are then broken down into squares and rectangles of text. I think this layout is confusing to follow, I think it would be improved if there was maybe one left column so there could be more clear blocks of text. The guide is separated into different sections and these sections are divided by a double page spread of an image of the city and a title page. I think this is a good clear indication that you are entering a new topic and I believe that this is an essential to have in a guide. Throughout the book there are small photographs and some illustrative images placed in relevant areas and photographs are a very important part of a travel guide, although in the one I design I will have more illustrations than photographs. The layout of the restaurants and places to stay are set out in squares, again in 3 columns, with a background behind the text. Pages that consist of all text have illustrative backgrounds. The size of the book is a little bigger than A5 and I think this is a perfect size for a travel guide as it's small enough to carry around but big enough to be able to read the text etc. Overall I think this is a very well planned out travel guide, it contains a lot of essential information but in my opinions the overall aesthetics of the guide aren't the best.
I next looked at a Mini Guide to North East of England. Again, not Berlin, but I really liked the look of this guide. The pages of this book have 2 columns which I think is much better than the last one I looked at. It's much easier to follow and read. The pages have titles down the outside edge of them which are also colour coded. Colour coding is a really good quick and easy thing that will help the reader find what they are looking for faster. The information on the inside consists of text, images and advertisements. I think images are very important in a travel guide because if you're unfamiliar with the area you are in, images are a great way to figure out where you are and if you are at the correct location. Another really important part of this guide which is really helpful are bus and train maps, these are a great help when you aren't sure on your location and need to travel by public transport. The size of the guide is a tad wider than A6, I think this is a great pocket size but if I am to design a guide with illustrations I feel I will need to design it a bit bigger. Overall the layout and general look of this guide is quite good, I like the colour coding and the clear text, I think it works really well.
The next guide I looked at was a Welcome Card from when I visited Berlin. The welcome card has pages of 2 columns which, as I have previously stated, are much easier to follow and read. The different sections are also colour coded and this helps with convenience. They also have separation pages which are full colour with a small illustration in the bottom corner which represents the section topic, this is good because it's a clear indication of what you are about to read. At the back of the guide there are a few 'notes' pages and I think this is a good idea in the case of the reader needing to take note of things like train times / stations etc. and the note pages provide a safe, convenient place to jot these. The best thing about this is that it has a huge fold out map which tucks nicely into the cover of the book. I find that a bigger map would be easier to read and follow, and if you didn't want to take out the big map there are smaller maps on the inside as well. The book is around A6 in size and this is a nice pocket sized guide but as I previously said, a slightly bigger one would be better. Overall I think this is quite a well planned and thought out guide, there is a lot of information but the aesthetics aren't too great, the best part of the image of the book is the separation pages.
I looked at a travel guide for students and it was mostly text based but the small parts of illustration / images were really nice. The guide was fully black and white and the little touches of imagery were things such as photographs with old photo style borders around them and ink stamped postcard stamps. I think the guide was best for information but there could have been a lot more imagery but the imagery that was there was quite strong and bold.
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