Athens in Colors calendar, cover page
Athens in Colors is a twist on the traditional yearly calendar. It showcases pleasant details around the city of Athens, includes some key dates of 2024 and presents a monthly doodle of the displayed picture for the user to color in.
Its purpose is to make the user feel joyful, at peace, with a variety of photographs ranging from flowers and nature to landscapes, buildings and pretty finds.
Layout sketches
Brief
For the final project in a documentary photography class, we were asked to choose a theme, take a series of photos, and present them in a format of our choice—some created booklets, others built installations or wall displays. I chose the theme of "happy little details", and turned my photos into a calendar that doubles as a coloring book once the year is over.
Creative Process
Background
Photography has always been a hobby of mine, so incorporating little moments of Athens to be grateful for along with a calendar, another one of my productions, seemed interesting. These pictures were mostly inspired by Ansel Adams in terms of nature interest and photography, as well as Henri-Cartier Bresson in terms of street photography and capturing passing moments decisively.
Layout sketches
Layout sketches
Design Thinking
When choosing a theme for this project, I was immediately drawn to “little moments of happiness” and “everyday details of Athens,” as I wanted the calendar to reflect gratitude and the beauty in small, meaningful things. While taking photos, I also noticed the frequent appearance of nature, especially flowers, which I chose to include as symbols of brightness in the city. The theme of happy details, combined with the selected images, naturally led to the idea of color, which I used both as an artistic element and an interactive feature for the viewer.
Challenges
This project wasn’t particularly challenging, as the graphic design elements were added voluntarily in a project that was not part of a graphic design class. The main effort went into creating the detailed doodles, which were time-consuming, and figuring out the calendar layout, which required some back-and-forth.
January, calendar side
January, doodle side
February, calendar side
February, doodle side
March, calendar side
March, doodle side
April, calendar side
April, doodle side
May, calendar side
May, doodle side
June, calendar side
June, doodle side
July, calendar side
July, doodle side
August, calendar side
August, doodle side
September, calendar side
September, doodle side
October, calendar side
October, doodle side
November, calendar side
November, doodle side
December, calendar side
December, doodle side
Final Outcome
Favorite Details
The handmade doodle could be considered this calendar’s selling point, as it adds to the pictures an interactive aspect. The photographs are snippets of daily life in Athens, full of color and character, and the drawings instruct the user that now, it’s their turn to “color Athens with joy”. The handmade nature of the line art reflects the city of Athens in terms of art, rough freehanded style and human touch.
Some of the months also include a smaller, lower opacity photograph, inserted in one of the days. The picture’s meaning may be obvious, such as a moon picture for a “supermoon” event (a full moon showing as larger than other months) or fireworks for the new year, but it may also be abstract, such as a smaller blue flower for easter or flowers forming a rough heart shape for valentine’s day.
Lessons Learned
One thing I would consider changing is the layout of the dates. I’d like to explore a more creative and original format instead of the traditional table structure.
Future Paths
I plan on creating a similar calendar for 2026 through my personal brand, Tinartsy, this time featuring my own illustrations, as well as outlined versions for people to color in.