NATHAN MURRAY TRAVELS / MADE AROUND THE JOURNEY
Illustrated
Guides.
Sample companion guides to a trip.
I create illustrated guides that bring the feeling of a place together with the useful details of traveling there: local context, food, routes, language and things worth noticing.
These selected pages show different approaches, from a family field journal to a city companion and an expedition magazine. Each guide can be shaped around the people, places and pace of the actual trip.
Six sample pages per guide. Open any page to browse the set, or download the excerpt to read at your own pace. Excerpts retain their original page numbers.
Picture the place.
Original artwork and landscapes give the journey a visual story.
Understand a little more.
History, language, food and local context make the visit richer.
Take something with you.
Useful notes, activities and space for memories make a companion worth keeping.
SAMPLE COMPANION GUIDE / 6 PAGES
Utah
Little wonders, big Utah.
A family field companion with red-rock landscapes, observation games and room for memories.
- Why I created it
- I created this as a family field companion: a way to turn Utah’s red-rock landscapes into things to notice, ask about and remember.
- How to use it
- Look through the landscape pages before a walk, take an observation game along, and use the open spaces for discoveries and memories.
SAMPLE COMPANION GUIDE / 6 PAGES
California
The grand road.
A road-trip field magazine that brings the landscape, useful context and activities together.
- Why I created it
- I created a field-magazine approach to a California road trip, bringing the landscapes, useful context and space for reflection into one book.
- How to use it
- Read the place notes between stops, use the weather prompts to look more closely, and return to the artwork and your own notes after the trip.
SAMPLE COMPANION GUIDE / 6 PAGES
Buenos Aires
Ten days, wide open.
A city companion with illustrated streets, local food, cultural context and practical Spanish.
- Why I created it
- I created a city companion that connects Buenos Aires’ streets, food and cultural stories with the practical details of exploring.
- How to use it
- Use it to get a feel for a neighborhood before heading out, keep a little Spanish close at hand, and collect the places and meals you want to remember.
SAMPLE COMPANION GUIDE / 6 PAGES
Alaska
Ice has a story.
A field-journal approach to Alaska, with landscape illustrations and ways to look more closely.
- Why I created it
- I created this as an illustrated field journal, with Alaska’s landscapes beside activities that encourage travelers to observe more closely.
- How to use it
- Preview the places before a day out, sketch or color what catches your eye, and build a record of the journey. Conditions and access still follow the operator’s current advice.
SAMPLE COMPANION GUIDE / 6 PAGES
Korea 한국
Palace roofs. Coastal views.
A Seoul 서울 and Busan 부산 companion with cultural context, language pages and an illustrated sense of place.
- Why I created it
- I created a Seoul 서울 and Busan 부산 companion that gives the places a little more context, from palace roofs and coastal temples to the written language around you.
- How to use it
- Read a short introduction before exploring, try the Hangul pages alongside real signs, and keep the cultural notes nearby during the trip.
SAMPLE COMPANION GUIDE / 6 PAGES
Japan 日本
Lantern light and a little language.
A winter-journey companion combining full-page artwork with food, local context and playful learning.
- Why I created it
- I created this winter-journey companion to bring Japan’s lantern-lit streets, food, temples and snow into a book that is useful and enjoyable to keep.
- How to use it
- Use the illustrations to picture the next stop, return to the food and language pages while exploring, and try the activities during quieter moments.
SAMPLE COMPANION GUIDE / 6 PAGES
Fjord & Ice
At the scale of the north.
An expedition companion that puts painted landscapes beside the planning questions behind a northern journey.
- Why I created it
- I created an expedition companion that places the scale and beauty of the north beside the planning questions behind the journey.
- How to use it
- Read the regional context before each leg and use the planning pages to discuss access and conditions with the operator. The illustrations inspire; they do not determine a safe route.
A GUIDE THAT BELONGS TO YOUR JOURNEY
The trip is yours.
The guide should be, too.
These are sample excerpts. A trip-specific edition can follow the final route, explain the places along it and bring the practical details together in a book, a phone edition or a web companion.
Let’s talk about your trip Explore the collaborations