cookbook design Syrian Delights
ashley ludlow typography 2 fall 2014
TABLE OF CONTENTS 5. design brief
6. research
9. inspiration
10. IP report
12. photographs
14. illustrations
16. sequence diagrams 22. final layouts 26. final cookbook
28. process essay
DESIGN BRIEF Focusing on grid systems and the creation of a multi-page document, produce a cookbook based on an assigned cuisine. Research your cuisine, collect recipes, and compile pages into a 32 page illustrated bound book.
SYRIAN CUISINE Research + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
Syria is located in the northern region Borders Turkey, Iraq, Isreal, Jordan, & Lebanon 71,000 square miles in area The capital is Damascus Euphrates River passes through Syria supplies 80% of country’s water Arabic is the official language - Spoken by 90% Islamic Faith - Religious Differences Tolerated Terrain is mostly dessert with little wildlife Cuisine filled with hearty flavor & aromatic spices Vegetables are the main ingredients of daily recipes Meat dishes served during feats & special occasions Decorate tables with appetizers & salads Cuisine is sophisticated & overall healthy Mix of spices and textures Focal Point of any city is the souk, or marketplace Houses are closed to outside world - self contained Veggies, Fruits, Dairy Products popular Midday meal includes 20-30 small dishes including hummus, ground sesame paste, eggplant, grape leaves, salad, chickpeas, and pita bread
INTRODUCTION Syria is a crossroads of cultural traditions. The area spans 71,000 square miles and is bordered by Turkey, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, and Lebanon. With the Euphrates River passing through the area, Syria supplies 80% of the countries water. The center of any city in Syria is the souk, or marketplace, full of alleys, stalls, tiny shops, mosques, and shrines. Syrian cuisine is full of hearty flavors and aromatic spices. The main ingredients of Syrian food are wheat, vegetables, fruits, and dairy products. Vegetables are the main ingredients of daily recipes. Meat dishes are served on special occasions and feats. Desserts are stuffed with various nuts, cream, cheese, or dates. Dates, figs, plums, and watermelons are the most used fruits. Food is often flavored with olives, lemons, parsley, onion, and garlic and the main beverages include tea and soda. When food is served, tables are decorated with various appetizers and salads. Mezzah, the midday meal or Syrian life, includes up to twenty or thirty small dishes including hummus, ground sesame paste, eggplant puree, stuffed grape leaves, salad, chickpeas, and pita bread. Syrian cuisine is sophisticated and particularly healthy with a mix of spices and textures. In this cookbook, I have compiled Syrian desserts. I chose desserts as my focus to highlight the sweet flavors of Syrian cuisine and the use of garnishes and a focus on unique aromatic ingredients.
INSPIRATION
Colors and Patterns TYPEFACES Title & Subtitle: Cinzel
Introduction: Simplifica
Headings:
canter Ingredients & Directions: Helvetica ď Ł
+ Dimensions: 10 in x 8 in + 40 pages
photographs
illustrations
sequence diagrams
5.
1.
SPRINKLE NUT MIXTURE ONTO DOUGH
LAY OUT FILLO DOUGH ON A FLAT SURFACE
6.
USING A LONG DOWEL, ROLL THE DOUGH
illustrations
2. MELT ½ CUP OF BUTTER IN A BOWL
7. AFTER ROLL, USE DOWEL PUSH DOUGH TOWARDS CENTER,
3. SPREAD A THIN, BUT GENEROUS AMOUNT OF BUTTER ON THE SURFACE OF THE DOUGH
8. 4.
IF RECIPE CALLS FOR A MIXTURE OF NUTS, GROUND UP NUTS INTO A POWDER SLIDE OFF OF DOWEL AND DISPLAY AS NECESSARY - PLACE ON TRAY AND BAKE
photographs collect ingredients
lay out filo dough
grind up mixture of nuts
melt butter in a bowl
spread butter on filo
sprinkle on nut mixture
roll filo
wrinkle and cook
How to roll Filo Pastry
*Process required in the making of Cigar Nut Pastries and Eswaret As-Set
1. LAY IT OUT Lay out fillo dough on a flat surface
2. MELT Melt ½ cup of butter in a bowl
3. SPREAD
Spread a thin, but generous amount of butter on the surface of the dough
4. GARNISH If recipe calls for a mixture of nuts, ground up nuts into a powder
final drawings → → 5. SPRINKLE
6. ROLL
Sprinkle nut mixture onto dough
Using a long dowel, roll the dough
7. WRINKLE
After roll, use dowel push dough towards center, creating a wrinkled look
8. BAKE & DISPLAY
Slide off of dowel and display as neccessary - place on a tray bake as directed
→
→
350 ° F
final layouts
process essay To begin this process, I began researching the country of Syria. I wnated to learn about their cultural tradition. Where do they spend their time? What does their art look like? What types of food do they eat? What types of special traditions define their culture? During my research I discovered a lot about the importance of food in Syria. They are specific in what occasions they choose to eat certain types of food, and I was surprised to learn that their meals are usually healthy. The requirement to cook my food led to my choice of making a Syrian cookbook of strictly desserts. Due to time contraists, I wanted to focus my recipes to a specific kind of food. After finding all of my recipes, I began placing them into a column grid and stylizing them using paragraph styles. I chose to use Helvetica for my ingredients and directions because it is easy to read and those sections required a lot of information. Thinking about the look of my cookbook, I was drawn to the extravagant patterns found in Syrian homes, their clothing, and their fabric. This is where I drew inspiration for color and pattern. I set out to design a pattern with Illustrator from looking at fabric from Syria. I incorporated this pattern into the background of my cookbook. Although most of my colors include dark purple and greys, I chose to put my type in white and hot pink. I like the contrast. After cooking my food for ling periods of time, I tried to photograph my desserts in the most natural light I could. I took the photos into Photoshop in order to try and create a unity. In my first large photo, I layer out the ingredients onto brown paper and photographed
it from above. Since many of the ingredients are unique to Syria, I wanted to highlight that in my book. I actually had to order many ingredients online because I did not have access to a Middle Eastern Supermarket. I chose brown paper because thought it highlighted the natural look of the ingredients. When photographing my recipes, I placed the dishes on patterned fabrics to hint back at Syrian fabrics and their ornamental style. I stuck to two patterns hoping to create a visual unity throughout the book. I wanted to keep my cover page simple and chose to use an ornamental typeface to reflect Syrian culture. For headings and page numbers I used a condensed typeface called Canter. I use this typeface throughout the book and into the index and acknowledgments. Although I decided to keep the Syrian names, I explain what each dessert is on the index page. After I finished organizing my book and all my pages were printed, I moved on to assembling the book. I chose to assemble mine rather than order it (at least for now) because I wanted to work on craftsmanship and learn about bookmaking. On my first attempt, I had issues with cutting and the glue. However, I feel that my final version went a lot smoother, even though there are still a some issues. I used french fold the second time and that helped make the edges cleaner. After my book was assembled, I added gold leaf on the spine to reflect the culture. Overall, I am happy with my book, since it is the first time I have had to make a multi-page document that was this long. I learned a lot in the process - especially about tools in InDesign and about assembling the book. Given more time, I would want to go back and make
sure all the text is coherent (since I borrowed from so many sources) and edit the language. I would have also liked to add more recipes and how-tos. With more time, I also would go back and fix up my little hot pink illustrations. Even though my goal was to make them look sketchy, I still feel like they could use work, especially on the Howto. I think the hardest thing during this process was the making of the food and photographing it because I ran into a lot of issues with needing ingredients and not having the right light for the photos to look cohesive.
Looking at my book as a physical object, I like the use of pattern throughout the book and the color scheme. I also like the typefaces that I used throughout the book. This is my first attempt at a book, so I have learned how long it takes and how much work goes into a document like this. Overall, i really enjoyed this project and I learned a lot. I am excited to design more books in the future.