Crafting Vintage Railway-Style Posters for Huntee Trails
May 17, 2025
Recently, I’ve been working on something a bit different for Huntee (a website & providing gamified trails) – a series of vintage railway-inspired posters celebrating these digital trails, starting with Stokesley, one of my favourite trail locations.
Why Create These Posters?
The vision for Huntee has always centred on creating engaging experiences that blend technology, culture, and discovery. These vintage railway posters felt like a natural extension of that philosophy, celebrating the beautiful locations our trails explore while tapping into the nostalgic aesthetic of mid-20th century travel advertisements.
Those original railway posters weren’t just adverts; they were works of art that captured the essence of a place and sparked imagination. I wanted to recreate that sense of wonder and invitation for our digital trails, blending Huntee’s modern technology with a classic visual style that resonates with people.
The Design Process
Creating these posters involved several distinct stages:
01. Researching & Photographing
First, I revisited the trail locations, taking numerous photographs and notes about what makes each place special – the distinctive architecture, natural features, and unique atmosphere. For Stokesley, this meant capturing its picturesque bridge, flowing water, and charming market town character.
This research phase is crucial, as you can’t simply create an authentic representation of a place without experiencing it firsthand. I walked the trails again, noticing details I might have missed before and gaining a deeper appreciation for what makes each location worth exploring.
02. AI Generation & Concepting
With my reference materials gathered, I began the creative process using a combination of AI tools:
ChatGPT helped me articulate the distinctive elements and mood I wanted to capture Leonardo and Stable Diffusion were trained with both my reference photos and examples of vintage railway poster aesthetics.
This stage involved dozens of iterations, gradually refining the prompts and parameters until the generated concepts started to capture that perfect blend of location accuracy and vintage poster style. It’s a fascinating back-and-forth process of guiding the AI while being open to unexpected creative directions it might suggest.
03. Post-Production & Design
The AI-generated imagery provided an excellent starting point, but significant post-production work was essential to achieve the final look. Using Photoshop, I:
- Refined and corrected elements that the AI didn’t quite get right
- Enhanced colours to match Huntee’s teal/yellow palette
- Improved details to better represent the actual locations
- Created the surrounding poster design with authentic vintage typography, borders, and layout
This phase is where my design experience comes in handy, transforming the raw concept into a polished, cohesive piece that feels both authentic to the vintage style and true to the Huntee brand.
04. Final Refinements/
The last stage involved finalizing the artwork with:
- Upscaling using Krea AI to ensure print-quality resolution
- Fine-tuning typography and composition
- Making subtle adjustments to colour balance and contrast
- Preparing both web and print-ready versions
Looking Forward
The response to this first poster has been wonderfully encouraging. Rather than selling these as products (since they involve AI-assisted creation), I’ve decided to offer them as free downloadable PDFs for the Huntee community.
My approach to design has always focused on blending technology, culture, and discovery, creating experiences that are not just visually appealing but meaningful and engaging. These posters represent that intersection perfectly, using modern tools to celebrate local heritage and encourage exploration.
You can read more about the Railway Poster Series on the Huntee blog or download the designs directly on the Huntee artwork page. I’ll be adding more locations to the series over the coming months, so keep an eye out for your favourite trails!
As with my work on projects like the Dorman Museum rebrand or the Kirkleatham Museum digital trail, this project has been about using design to enhance how people connect with places and heritage. It’s been a pleasure to bring together my love for design, technology, and local exploration in this way.