CREATION
Turning A Trip Into Something I Could Keep
Tierra Querida began with a simple idea: what if a souvenir could feel as personal as the memories behind it?
Using photographs, objects, food, colors, and small moments I collected while traveling through Colombia, I created a fictional souvenir brand rooted in my own experience of the country.
Rather than designing around the typical imagery associated with Colombia, I wanted the identity to feel like my Colombia—colorful, playful, imperfect, and full of the details I actually remembered.
CHALLENGE
Designing Colombia Without Designing A Cliché
The challenge was translating a place as vibrant as Colombia into a visual identity without relying on generic travel imagery.
I wanted every element to have a reason for being there. The Rappi scooter, fruit, peppers, drinks, packaging, hand-painted signs, and colors all came from things I photographed, ate, noticed, or interacted with while I was there.
The result became less of a destination brand and more of a visual scrapbook—one built from specific memories instead of stereotypes.
FROM PHOTO TO TYPEFACE
From Photo to Type
One of my favorite details from the trip was a hand-painted sign reading “Está Kabrón Ser Yo.”
Instead of simply using the photograph as inspiration, I traced and studied the shapes of the existing letters, then used their quirks to imagine the ones that didn’t exist.
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From that single piece of lettering, I developed a custom character set that preserved its uneven curves, strange proportions, and handmade personality. It became one of the most distinctive pieces of the identity—and a direct piece of Colombia carried into the final brand.
Because I didn’t want it to stop at a poster.
BUILDING THE SOUVENIR WORLD
Once the visual language was established, I treated Tierra Querida like a real souvenir brand. The illustration system expanded across posters, stickers, apparel, scarves, totes, postcards, keychains, bottle openers, matchbooks, and other objects you might actually bring home from a trip.
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Keeping the same palette, typography, and illustration language across every application turned a collection of individual memories into one cohesive world.
The final result sits somewhere between a travel diary, a brand identity, and the souvenir shop I wish I had found while I was there.
