My good friend and fellow tour guide Wendy Hayward asked me to design her book The Locals' Guide to South Beach.
Wendy wanted to create a guidebook for the thousands of tourists flocking to South Beach, with the goal of helping them discover the best parts of southern Miami Beach. She wanted to provide honest recommendations for dining and entertainment without pressure from advertisers, and also direct visitors to some of the more hidden gems known only to residents.
Wendy researched like mad, visiting hundreds of locations and businesses, with the goal of including only those she deemed most worthy. I provided some photography, designed the maps, created the visual look for the publication, laid out all of the text, and created the final files sent to the book printer. Both Wendy and I were really proud of the final product—but unfortunately, books of this sort become quickly outdated as businesses come and go. We had hoped to release regular revisions of the guide, but funding for the revised guidebook became a challenge.
While many of the items included in the Locals' Guide are still accurate, I wouldn't plan a trip using solely this guidebook—do some research before you go to determine current businesses, locations, opening time, etc.