Minimalist Vector Travel Prints
Journey to Amdo Tibet
Trekking in the Amdo Tibet region was the idyllic, magical travel experience I could only dream of before. The stunning natural landscapes and cultural heritage of the area inspired these minimalist prints.
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“The colors of the five elements in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition can be seen everywhere: prayer flags, mantras carved into rock faces, walls inside temples, and elaborate thangkas.”
Seth Barham
Graphic & Web Designer
Project Details
Type: Minimalist vector print
Skills: Illustration, vector graphics, print design
Tools: Apple M1 MacBook Pro, Adobe Illustrator, Wacom Intuos Tablet
Goal: Design a series of minimal prints inspired by my time traveling in the Amdo Tibet region.
Challenges: Ensuring that I pay an appropriate level of respect to the culture while creating these designs.
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MINIMALIST PRINTS INSPIRED BY TRAVEL
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GET IT ON REDBUBBLE ༄ MINIMALIST PRINTS INSPIRED BY TRAVEL ༄
The landscape and spirituality of Tibet are intertwined.
As you can see, Tibet is absolutely gorgeous. While the stark landscape of the plateau can be jagged, sparse, and almost Martian-like, the mysticism of Tibetan Buddhism and the Bon tradition inject vibrant splashes of color in the form of prayer flags, temples, and thangkas. If you look closely enough, you will find these colors shouting out against the moonscape, like the electric Himalayan blue poppy, neon orange and red lichens on rocks, and lush greens and yellows in the valleys during summer.
What and where is Tibet?
The Tibetan Plateau covers all of the Tibet Autonomous Region and Qinghai province, parts of Gansu, Sichuan, and Yunnan provinces, and some of Xinjiang. And that’s just within China. The three historic divisions of Tibet are Ü-Tsang, Amdo, and Kham (see map). I spent most of my time in the Amdo region in Qinghai province.
Despite its incredible sparsity, the Tibetan Plateau is rich in colorful symbolism. The colors of the five elements in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition can be seen everywhere: prayer flags, mantras carved into rock faces, walls inside temples, and elaborate thangkas. They were the perfect choice for this project’s color palette.
Tibetan script itself is a work of art. All of the fonts in this project were sourced from the Qomolangma font pack that was developed for Tibetans in exile. It includes some standard forms of the script as well as calligraphic fonts. Another important motif in this project is the endless knot, which has several profound meanings in Tibet. It commonly represents Samsara, the endless cycle of birth, death, and rebirth.
Prayer flags flutter in the breeze everywhere you look.
Probably the most common splashes of color you’ll find throughout the Tibetan landscape are prayer flags. They’re everywhere. The colors represent the five elements of the sky (or space), wind, fire, water, and earth. Prayers, mantras, and Buddhist symbols are block-printed on the cloth. When the flags flap in the wind, they radiate the blessings written upon them out into the world.
The stupa is a sign of civilization and a spiritual marker.
We spent many hours on the road in Amdo heading from Xining in the northeast to Mount Amnye Machen in the south. It was an uncomfortable, bumpy journey, but the breathtaking scenery made you forget about leg cramps. As the mountains rolled by the window, occasionally a stupa would punctuate the landscape. These structures contain sacred Buddhist relics and symbolize the Buddha’s presence in the world.
We are all just a tiny thread in the knot.
During our journey, we had the privilege to enter many temples and admire their architecture and artwork. The endless knot is a prevalent symbol in monasteries that has many meanings, but the most common is a representation of Samsara, the endless cycle of birth, death, and rebirth. The ultimate goal in Buddhism is to escape this cycle of suffering through nirvana.
Amnye Machen dishes out hard lessons on high-altitude trekking.
The main goal of our trip was to complete a kora trek around Mount Amnye Machen, the highest point in Amdo at 6,282 m (20,610 ft) and one of the four holiest peaks in Tibetan Buddhism. We lasted a few days, completely in awe of the landscape, until that same landscape began to punish us relentlessly. The altitude left us breathless, taking a few steps forward and pausing to catch it again. Looking back, we probably should have had more stops on our journey there to acclimatize.
Ga le ga ler song became my mantra.
Along with our guide and local Golog horsemen to drive the yaks carrying supplies, a Tibetan Buddhist monk accompanied us on our trek around Amnye Machen. He knew the route so well that he often took over leading us when the guide needed to check on logistical things. When he noticed us struggling, he would always gently tell us ga le ga ler song, which means carry on walking slowly. These words of encouragement kept us going despite the altitude sapping our energy. The above print is this phrase in Tibetan script.
Carry on walking slowly…
After putting one foot in front of the other and eventually making it off Amnye Machen - and getting our bacon saved from an aggressive Tibetan mastiff by the same monk (a story for another time) - this phrase stuck with me. It doesn’t matter where you’re at in life. If you can just make yourself take that next step, even if you need to stop to catch your breath after, it’s progress.
There is no Tibet without yaks.
Our trek would not have been possible at all without the all-stars of Tibet. Yaks are central to everything on the Tibetan Plateau, which is not exactly the best environment for growing crops. These animals survive off the sparse scrub that grows here and provide food, clothing, shelter, labor, and even heat. They are strong as hell and carried most of our supplies for this trip. Our mornings always began with a big cup of yak butter tea, which admittedly takes getting used to but has the calories you need at high altitudes.
Grab a print from my Redbubble shop!
I began this series with my minimalist travel print side hustle, Footloose Fabric, in mind. You can find all of the designs in this project in my Redubble shop on T-shirts, hoodies, wall prints, and tons of other apparel and products. If the wonders of Amdo strike your fancy, or you just appreciate a simple print, grab one - it helps me out a ton!
