Marseille Rail
This project is centered on investigating the material and designed qualities of print artefacts, gaining a deep understanding of their purpose and meaning, and then using that information to reinvent archival pieces in a new and exciting way. The project began with deciding on the artefact—I chose a map titled Le Port de Marseille et Ses Annexes from the David Rumsey Map Collection. I was drawn to it both for my personal connection, as I studied abroad in Aix-en-Provence, just a short train ride away from Marseille, and for its bold graphic qualities which made it feel timeless, despite being published in 1951.
Our first project was to produce a 1-to-1 physical recreation—a Study Facsimile—capturing every rip, stain, and property of movement. I then moved on to a Recreation, using Adobe Illustrator to copy the design, drawing, and type exactly. It was a painstaking process that took upwards of 60 hours of work, but without this process, I wouldn’t have come to deeply understand the map in the way I do now. It allowed me to investigate how each piece intersected and worked with each other, as well as the ways this piece may have been created.
Study Facsimile & Archival Source
Reinvention for a Modern Age
