Tasting Melbourne— Editorial, Information & Experience Design
Role: Publication Designer · Illustrator · Photographer & Researcher
Duration: 3 months
Tools: Adobe Illustrator · Adobe InDesign · Adobe Photoshop · Photography
Overview
Tasting Melbourne is a research-led editorial project designed to help travellers explore Melbourne’s food and cultural destinations within a 15-minute walking radius.
The project explored how photography, illustration, mapping, and publication design could create a more intuitive and visually engaging travel experience for international visitors navigating unfamiliar environments.
The final publication was exhibited at the Centre for Contemporary Photography and the RMIT Design Program.
Photography, illustrations, & publication design by Dotti Li. Printing & binding by Press Print Melbourne. Photo credit for portfolio use: Bowei Wang.
Key Contributions
I independently led the project end-to-end, including:
design research and publication analysis
photography and visual storytelling
illustration, mapping, and editorial design
layout and publication production
testing and refinement of navigation and readability
All featured restaurant, food, and location photography within the publication was photographed by me.
Research & Testing
To better understand how travellers navigate unfamiliar cities, I analysed and tested a range of travel publications and guidebooks while travelling through different cities in the United States.
These observations informed the publication’s visual navigation system, information hierarchy, and editorial pacing, particularly for international visitors relying heavily on visual cues.
Reflection
This project strengthened my understanding of how visual communication, accessibility, and information hierarchy can shape real-world experiences beyond aesthetics.
Book cover
Index design
Map design 1
Map design 2
Map design 3
Inside page 1
Inside page 2
Inside page 3
Inside page 4
Inside page 5
Inside page 6
