I've been a fan of Dropbox's playful, sketch-like style for quite some time now -- I'm ceaselessly impressed by which crucial details they know to keep that other designers often throw out when dealing with flat design.
For this project in particular, I was inspired by the legendary Alice Lee and her illustrations for Dropbox. In quintessential Dropbox fashion, her work hits the bull's eye in the intersection of playfulness and polished simplicity. I noticed that she consistently stuck with strong strokes and pastel colors, and so, I set out to emulate that style. Trying it on for size, if you will.
Instead of some of the world's most reverred landmarks though, I opted for illustrating a place closer to my heart: UC Berkeley. I chose a few of the more well-known buildings on campus, in hopes that y'all will be able to identify them!
Some initial sketches I did of the Campanile and South Hall. These helped me identify measurements and break down geometric shapes when I later vectorized the two buildings.
1. CAMPANILE
2. SOUTH HALL
3. SPROUL HALL
For those who have ever stepped foot on campus, I think you will agree when I say that there really isn't one cohesive architectural style. (This annoyed me during my first year in college, but now I find myself appreciating the eclecticness.)
In the end, Cal's lack of cohesion actually worked in my favor. I was able to play around with different architectural styles, symmetry, colors, and stroke weights. I wanted to force myself to recreate famous Berkeley landmarks using mostly only foundational geometric shapes, so the biggest challenge was making something in a whirlwind of curves and outlines with a limited toolbox. It was rewarding to witness, how one by one, each individual shape (that, by themselves, mean nothing) added up to depict an institution that's been around for almost 200 years.
Note: buildings may or may not be drawn to scale ... Most likely not.
