The "client" for this project was my family in Romania, particularly my mother, who is affectionately called "Bi." The cookbook is written in Romanian, as it is the only language my mother speaks, and it is intended for my family in Romania.
Before I moved to Canada, my mother gave me a school notebook in which she had handwritten 12 traditional and favourite recipes. I transformed this heartfelt gift into a professionally designed family cookbook as a gift back to her and my family, turning her handwritten notes into a beautifully crafted book.
Key Challenges:
- Creating a design that reflects my family's heritage and my mother's love for cooking.
- Incorporating images of her handwritten recipes into the design.
- Developing custom typefaces for the recipe titles.
- Drawing appropriate illustrations for each recipe.
- Selecting the right photos from my archive to enhance the project.
- Designing a visually appealing cover for the book.
- Creating a layout in Adobe InDesign that suits the project's unique requirements.
- Incorporating images of her handwritten recipes into the design.
- Developing custom typefaces for the recipe titles.
- Drawing appropriate illustrations for each recipe.
- Selecting the right photos from my archive to enhance the project.
- Designing a visually appealing cover for the book.
- Creating a layout in Adobe InDesign that suits the project's unique requirements.
This project was a labour of love, merging personal history with professional design to create a meaningful and enduring family keepsake.
The printed family cooking book
Sample pages from the cooking book
Front and back cover of the cooking book
Examples of layout design