WorkGraphic Design

Silky Way: an alternative travel guide to Tokyo

When planning for a holiday, it always helps to have a handy travel guide filled with recommendations, tips and tricks from discerning tourists gone-by. However, if you're seeking something slightly more individual than those packing the shelves of the high-street shops, there are plenty of other options from well-travelled creatives.

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Open pages of Silky Way magazine showing a pink page with a handwritten note reading "Tokyo is yours" and blurred pages beside it

Zuzanna El Tanbouli, is a designer that's part Polish, part Egyptian, and multilingual. Highly adventurous and a graduate of the Cardiff School of Art & Design, her latest creative project is inspired by Japan.

She says: "I travel a lot and I am not afraid to take on new tasks. I speak Japanese and I’ve spent around six months in Japan in total. My huge passion for East Asian culture has also led me to places like Beijing, Seoul and Busan."

For the first issue of Silky Way – a new magazine by Zuzanna – the Japanese capital is the focus. "The magazine allows the reader to understand the vibe of a place and encourages them to experience it, rather than just see it. It aims to appeal to those who are interested in something more than just sightseeing."

The first issue 'Tokyo Experience Guide' is a summary of Zuzanna's multiple trips to Japan and aims to provide the reader with the means to explore the city and its possibilities, beyond the contents of a typical travel guide. Discover more at zuzannaeltanbouli.com

All images courtesy of Zuzanna El Tanbouli

Open spread of Silky Way magazine showing peach-coloured pages with burgundy and white typography and Japanese characters, featuring an article about Tokyo
Pages of Silky Way magazine spread open, displaying Japanese text and layout with red accents on the spine
Open magazine spread showing Silky Way's Tokyo Experience Guide with vintage photographs of Tokyo streets overlaid with red typography
Open pages of Silky Way magazine showing traditional Japanese architecture with burgundy and coral tones and gold Japanese characters on the centre spread
Open pages of Silky Way magazine showing "you can read" text on left page and small running figure illustrations across right page in pink
An open magazine spread showing text on the left page and Japanese characters in white and red on a black right page from Silky Way's Tokyo Experience Guide
An open magazine spread from Silky Way's Tokyo Experience Guide showing large peach-coloured Japanese characters on the left page and text columns on the right
Spread from Silky Way magazine showing "Food is good" article with packaged Japanese food items and a hand holding a skewer of dumplings
Silky Way magazine cover featuring a woman in a white kimono with purple and red floral patterns, tilting forward with her hand extended
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