Vector Monuments You’ll Need in Your Design Projects

We’ve already established in the first part of this article that vector illustrations of the famous monuments of the world are an important asset for graphic designers. Not only is it good to constantly add quality elements to your personal collection of design resources, but also the ones with this particular theme can come in handy in web and print projects for the travel industry. This being said, let’s start by taking a look at some cool illustrations with the most known and easily recognizable monuments.

France is one of the countries with the richest history; and what better way to find out more about it than letting its monuments talk about all the major events that they’ve witnessed?

Arc de Triomphe

From the vast number of choices, I’ve picked the Arc de Triomphe for today’s article. It was designed by Jean Chalgrin in 1806 to commemorate the Emperor Napoleon’s victory in the battle from Austerlitz. It stand majestically in the center of the Place Charles de Gaulle, at the intersection of 12 arterial boulevards, forming an architectural star. This is the reason for which it was originally named Arc de Triomphe de l’Étoile (étoile = star).

Colosseum

Italy and its larger than life monuments bring serious competition for France. That is why I’ve chosen the Colosseum for some truly old school design inspiration.

Also named the Coliseum (originally the Flavian Amphitheatre) is the largest amphitheatre ever built in the Roman Empire. It still stands in the middle of modern Rome, since it was built in the year 80 AD, under the emperor Titus. It was originally used for gladiatorial battles and public spectacles, but has stopped being used in the medieval era and is today one of the most popular tourist attractions in the world.

Big Ben

The United Kingdom is next on our list because of two breathtaking monuments that literally set it on the tourism map. The first one is the Big Ben, the bell in the great Clock Tower from the Palace of Westminster in London. It was named after Sir Benjamin Hall, who supervised its construction, which ended in 1858. It is known for holding the largest four-faced chiming clock in the world and has since become a symbol of England’s capital.

Stonehenge

Stonehenge is the other major monument from England, which I’m sure you’ve all heard about. Archaeologists have pinpointed its construction in time somewhere between the years 3000 and 2000 BC. It is believed to have been an burial site at the beginning and due to its truly impressive age, the methods used to create it have brought up much controversy. It is now owned by The Crown and is part of UNESCO’s list of World Heritage Sites.

The Egyptian Pyramids

We absolutely can’t talk about the world’s greatest monuments without mentioning the Egyptian pyramids. There are 138 pyramids constructed thousands of years BC with the purpose of serving as majestic tombs for Pharaohs. It has been estimated that up to 100 000 workers were used to built them and similar to Stonehenge, the way in which they were constructed is still somewhat of a mystery.

A commonly met element in the Egyptian culture is the sphinx. It represents the great sun deity Sekhmet, which Pharaohs chose to be carved on their tombs because they believed that this brought them closer. The most famous one is The Great Sphinx of Giza, which is situated on the west bank of the river Nile. It particularly stands out for being the largest monolith statue (built from a single rock) and the oldest massive monumental sculpture in the world.

I hope you’ve enjoyed reading this article as much as I’ve enjoyed writing it and that it has offered you valuable resources, both history and design related. Which one of these monuments do you consider has the most interesting story?