Destination: Journey is a book of self-discovery and exploration of one’s unique life path. Inspired by personal experience of growing up in Siberia, the idea for this book was created as a response to the minimal expectations I received from my father. As I had no visible orienteers that would praise or punish me, I began imagining a diverse range of scenarios, having several identities with their own desires and life paths. Being stuck between all those roads not taken, I wished there was a clear voice that would explain why and where I should start my journey. It became my submission to the 2025 Milestones Brief from the International Society of Typographic Designers (ISTD) which awarded me an ISTD Membership Award in June 2025. The book acts as a collection of narratives shaped around an extended metaphor my father once told me: of life as a journey on the road, and as a book, where milestones are not measures of success but reference points. Here I am asking the reader to look at life not in terms of achievements but of moments that defined us. Milestones in their literal sense are locations on a road, yet even if no physical sign is present, they mark paths to which you can refer for personal growth and better understanding of the relationships that influence us. It is a sign of progression and a reminder to keep opening new roads both for society and the inner self. The project interrogates perfectionism, parental expectations, and the emotional cost of modern life’s milestones—and invites the reader to critically examine the systems we exist within.
