Cartouche Graphics
I love a nice calligraphic artwork and especially the Arabic and Islamic script and often think
about using the designs in promoting travel to the destinations the calligraphy hails from.
Easier said than done if you do not know the true meaning of the alphabet you are using. The
worst outcome would be to have your clients wearing a blasphemous statement or sporting an
icon that has a very different meaning, landing them in jail for ten years. So it’s good to find
online translators who can help. In this case we have two ‘generators’ that can generate one’s
name into a Cartouche. I have gone with ABC Travel as the agency name.
http://www.discoveringegypt.com/hieroglyphic-typewriter.html
http://www.virtual-egypt.com/newhtml/glyph/glyph.html
When we have access to tools like these we must
consider how best to use them and one way that
comes to mind is to promote the fact that YOU
can produce someone’s name as a Cartouche.
Yes, you and your clients with their very nicely
presented Cartouches will be heading to Cairo
and to visit the museum of course.
You receive the client’s name. You type it into
the generator, the Cartouche is produced and
you then save the result as a JPEG image and
send it back to your client. Do not mention the
website or the Cartouche generator.
You can try the same idea using Chinese name
generators, too. Create interest in the
calligraphy, the culture and the country and then
after that you can send brochures or host an
event based on the destination that matches the
calligraphic names.
Ask your client who just received their Cartouche
to tell their friends that you’d be happy to create
a Cartouche for them too. Now you are building
a following and guess where your tour will be
heading to?
Work with the tourism boards as mentioned and
create a special tour for your clients. Their
Cartouches could also be reproduced in Cairo to
be worn as a pendent or ring. That’s a nice addon to the tour.
Page 26