The Old Barbershop
A deep dive into isometric storytelling
My Role: Creative Concept, Art Direction, Illustration
After my first professional isometric project, I couldn't let go of the perspective. I needed to explore what it could really do.
The Problem
Characters have been a big passion of mine over last decade. Although I constantly work on new ideas I always felt a lag of storytelling in my approaches so I wanted to challenge myself and create a complete scene that can tell a story in itself, rather than just a single character.
My Approach
I had just finished a client project where I was challenged for the first time to create an illustration landscape using an isometric perspective. I immediately got hooked on the possibilities of this specific perspective and wanted to use it for this exercise.
What draws me to isometric work is that feeling of being the invisible observer, the one who sees everything without interrupting. Like those crowded picture books from childhood, where every new glance reveals a story you missed before.
I wanted to build a scene where the observer can find little details, wonder around their view and just spend some time to let the whole scene sink in.
An old barbershop felt right. The kind of place that started as somewhere to get a haircut but became something else over time, a quiet sanctuary where old friends gather and stories unfold at their own pace.
Every object had to earn its place. Everything needed to whisper something about the people who spend time here.
The real challenge was relationships. No dialogue, just posture and proximity. Who's known each other for decades? Who just walked in? What story is being told in this exact moment?
I wanted each character to feel like they had a life beyond this single frame.
Before committing to the final scene, I needed to understand the space. Sketches helped me figure out the grid, the characters, and the flow of the scene.
Some ideas made the cut. Others didn't. That's the fun part.
This was my first real experiment with isometric illustration. It won't be the last. The storytelling possibilities are too good to ignore.
