Final Fantasy XIV: Heavensward -- The Art of Ishgard -The Scars of War-

Video games in general are largely overlooked and a vital domain of graphic design history. It is the culmination of multiple facets of design disciplines, such as illustration, typography, motion, sound, visual, and interactive elements. 

The People's Archive has a limited representation of video games, and preserving these works highlights how design transforms across media, reflects cultural values, and evolves as technology advances. This perspective highlights how design is used as the ultimate interactive medium, drawing on a multitude of ideas, techniques, and practices developed up to this point to tell stories that matter, while also celebrating and pushing the limits of human creativity.

The image shows what appears to be a Dragoon (the expansion's signature job class) in this incredibly detailed, almost watercolor like style with heavy shadows and this melancholic blue ray palette. Ayumi Namae's work here really elevated FF14's visual identity,she took over a lot of the character design work from Yoshida and brought this slightly more ethereal, European fantasy novel quality to the designs. The typography is interesting too the "XIV" and "Heavensward" are stacked in this very deliberate, almost architectural way that echoes the Ishgardian cathedral aesthetic from the game. The subtitle "Stone and Steel" is rendered in this script like font that contrasts with the blockier main title, which is a nice touch. This art book is actually part of a series (there's a second volume, The Art of Ishgard: The Scars of War), and the cover design establishes this really cohesive, high end art book identity that separates it from the more commercial game packaging. The whole thing feels like something you'd find in an actual art museum gift shop, which makes sense given how Square Enix has been positioning FF14 as this prestige MMO experience.