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CANNIBALISM
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LAYOUT
This section outlines the structural design of the interface or page, detailing how content is organised and visually arranged. It covers grid systems, and the hierarchy of elements to ensure a cohesive and user-friendly experience.
GRID SYSTEM
For my cookbook, I used a three-column grid system with 0.25-inch margins to create a structured and visually balanced layout. The main text sits in the central column, with the side columns providing additional space for supporting elements like ingredients or small images. The 0.5-inch gutter ensures the content doesn’t feel cramped, making it easier to read. This grid system is inspired by Robert Bringhurst’s The Elements of Typographic Style and Olly Wood’s Blasphemy.
PAGE STRUCTURE
The page structure of my cookbook is also inspired by Blasphemy by Olly Wood, with a dynamic layout that clearly organizes each recipe into sections. Each recipe begins with a quote framing the dish in a cultural context. Like Blasphemy, the layout, complemented by imagery, guides the reader through both the culinary process and its deeper meaning.
The design was further influenced by Robert Bringhurst’s The Elements of Typographic Style. A vertical line on the right side was retained, which is later used to create a blood drop effect, symbolizing cannibalism and adding layers of meaning to the design. This intentional design choice not only highlights the imagery but also deepens the narrative, offering both a visual and conceptual connection to the dish.
IMAGE PLACEMENT
The image of the original recipe, along with images of traditional Italian elements, is placed at the center of the page, while the altered version is positioned on the left-hand side of the facing page. Much like the approach in Blasphemy emphasizing contrast and transformation, my layout aims to create a powerful visual impact, enabling readers to instantly compare the original dish with its altered version.
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TYPOGRAPHY
This section highlights the typographic choices that define the tone and enhance the reading experience across my cookbook.
FONT CHOICE
Courier
I initially considered using Courier for its distinctive monospaced, typewriter-style aesthetic. I liked the nostalgic and utilitarian vibe it brought, with its mechanical rhythm evoking a sense of old-school documentation or retro communication. While it added personality and contrast to more traditional fonts, it didn’t quite feel aesthetically pleasant for the overall look of the cookbook. Its rigid, technical feel didn’t match the warm, inviting tone I was aiming for.
Merriweather
The next font I’ve used for the body copy is Merriweather. I chose it because it’s highly readable and has a warm, welcoming feel, making it ideal for longer recipe instructions. Its classic serifs provide a nice balance of elegance and practicality, ensuring that the content remains easy to follow. I also used it for some of the more philosophical sections of the cookbook, where I wanted to create a personal and reflective tone.
Baskerville
I used Baskerville for the headings because it adds a touch of character and elegance to the design. Its vintage, slightly decorative style makes the titles stand out and gives the cookbook a sense of personality. I love how it contrasts with the cleaner body text, drawing attention to key sections like the ingredients and instructions. It has just the right balance of sophistication and warmth, helping those important areas pop while still fitting seamlessly with the rest of the design.
FONT SIZE
At first I was inspired by the style of gallery captions, like those found next to artworks in exhibitions. I wanted to present Italian cuisine as a curated collection, using the same clean structure and small font sizes typical of museum displays. The idea was to give the recipes a sense of importance, almost like cultural artifacts. But as I applied that format, it felt too cold and formal for a cookbook.
That’s when I discovered the half pica modular scale by Robert Bringhurst in The Elements of Typographic Style. This system helped me to have a better and consistent rhythm across the design. By adjusting font sizes in fixed increments, I was able to build a visual flow where each text element felt connected and balanced. It made a huge difference, bringing structure and harmony to the layout without making it feel stiff or overly controlled.
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IMAGERY & PHOTOGRAPHY STYLE
This section focuses on the types of images used and the tone they convey. The images selected for the cookbook aim to capture the essence of traditional Italian dishes, while also highlighting the contrasts with their globalised counterparts.
DISH PHOTOGRAPHY
Recipes from an Italian Summer was invaluable in demonstrating how warm, nostalgic imagery can beautifully convey the authenticity of Italian traditions and cooking. The book’s use of natural light, rustic settings, and simple, unpretentious dishes helped evoke a sense of home and timelessness. This approach reinforced the idea that food is not just about taste but also about the memories and emotions tied to it, making it an ideal reference for capturing the essence of Italian cuisine.
Building on this inspiration, the photography in my cookbook’s traditional recipe section is carefully crafted to evoke the same sense of authenticity and warmth. The images are framed in black to emphasise their timeless nature, highlighting the contrast between the traditional and altered versions of the dishes. To ensure each photograph truly reflects the heart of Italian home cooking, the selection was made through extensive research on the most authentic Italian restaurants, aiming to stay true to the spirit of these classic recipes.
FEATURE IMAGES
While reading Blasphemy by Olly Wood, I came across images that beautifully represented the simplicity of cuisine, particularly the portrayal of kitchen tools and fresh ingredients.
These visuals inspired me to introduce Italian culinary tools in the cookbook, as they perfectly reflect the deep connection Italians have with their cooking traditions. These tools are not merely practical but also symbolic, deeply connected to the ritual of preparing a dish. Through photography, I aimed to capture the craftsmanship and emotional significance inherent in Italian cooking. My goal was to highlight how these tools are central to the cultural connection Italians feel when preparing their meals, helping to preserve the authenticity and tradition of their culinary heritage.
ALTERED FOOD PHOTOGRAPHY
My project was initially inspired by Blasphemy by Olly Wood, particularly its critique of the commercialisation and distortion of cultural elements. Wood’s exploration of how cultural symbols are often reshaped for mass appeal made me reflect on the globalisation of Italian cuisine and how it can lose its true meaning in the process. His work encouraged me to examine the boundary between cultural appreciation and appropriation, particularly in the context of food.
This inspiration led me to manipulate the images of traditional Italian recipes, using Photoshop to alter ingredients that do not belong in the original dishes. Through this visual distortion, I aimed to highlight how Italian food, once globalised, can be stripped of its authenticity to suit commercial interests. Additionally, Wood’s bold, chaotic layout inspired me to embrace contrasting elements in my own design, merging traditional Italian cooking with modern, commercialised aesthetics. This approach visually represents the tension between authentic Italian cuisine and its altered, globalised versions.
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COLOUR PALETTE
This section focuses on the colour choices and the mood they create. The palette captures the warmth of traditional Italian cuisine while highlighting contrasts with its globalised counterparts, with deeper accents referencing themes of transformation and even cannibalism.
The primary colour I chose for my cookbook is a deep, visceral red. It was selected as a reference to blood, symbolising both the deep-rooted connection Italians feel to their heritage and the intensity with which cultural identity is preserved and defended. This red carries emotional weight, speaking to the pride, passion and sometimes painful transformations that occur when traditional cuisine is adapted or appropriated. It became a visual metaphor for cultural cannibalism — the way recipes are broken down and reassembled in ways that often stray far from their origins.
Alongside it, I used a brighter scarlet red to highlight the altered versions of the dishes. This more saturated tone draws attention to reinterpretation, exaggeration and visual spectacle. It amplifies the transformation, creating contrast and tension between what is remembered and what is reimagined.
The background is a warm off-white that reminds me of parchment or handmade paper. It grounds the design in tradition and memory, offering a quiet space between the emotional weight of the reds. Black text acts as an anchor, bringing weight and clarity to the layout. In the more surreal and stylised visuals, like the red pineapple, I wanted to evoke a sense of discomfort and fascination that reflects the distortion of authenticity.
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EDITING
This section showcases the editing techniques I used to shape the visual style of my cookbook, including image treatments, colour choices, and design effects.
For the modified representation of Italian food and for some of the pages showcasing the key utensils used in traditional Italian cuisine, I experimented with Photoshop’s blending modes by using the Hard Mix option combined with a deep red, blood-like colour. This choice was intentional, aiming to evoke a sense of intensity and passion often associated with Italian culinary culture while also hinting at themes of transformation or disruption in the reinterpretation of tradition.
For some of the artwork in my cookbook, I used a textured Pop Art photo effect to reflect the bold and expressive nature of Italian culture. I included well-known figures, such as actors from classic Italian films related to food, to create a sense of nostalgia and cultural recognition.
To achieve this look, I used Photoshop. I first converted the image layer into a Smart Object, then added a new adjustment layer and applied the Threshold effect, adjusting the levels to suit the composition. I finished by using the Gradient Map to select and refine the colour scheme, choosing a bold red to enhance visual contrast and impact.
On recipe introduction pages, I continued using blending modes as in my previous edits, applying a low-opacity layer with basil leaves in the colours of the Italian flag. I used a blending mode to give the objects a textured, printed look while keeping them integrated into the background. To maintain readability where the leaves overlapped with the text, I applied bold formatting to certain parts of the text, a technique known as selective emphasis, which helps the important content stand out without needing to move or remove the design elements.
To refine the visual and thematic direction of my project, I began by improving the avocado image to give it a cleaner, more defined look. I also adjusted the scale of the recipe elements to enhance their visual impact.
I also adjusted the scale of the recipe elements to enhance their visual impact.
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For the images taken from films with a connection to Italian cuisine, I applied the Grain filter. This was done to create a cohesive visual texture that blends these cinematic stills with the rest of the cookbook’s design. The subtle grain helps soften the digital sharpness of the original frames, giving them a more tactile, printed quality that matches the overall aesthetic. It also evokes the feeling of vintage film, which complements the nostalgic and cultural richness often associated with traditional Italian cooking.
Call Me by Your Name, Guadagnino, 2017.
The Hand of God, Sorrentino, 2021.
Big Night, Tucci & Shalhoub, 1996.
For the cover and back cover of the book, I created an image of two hands trying to break a bundle of spaghetti. This idea came from wanting to reflect the tension between appreciation and appropriation in how Italian cuisine is treated around the world. Breaking spaghetti is something that tends to upset Italians, as it goes against traditional ways of cooking and serving it. By showing this act, the image becomes a symbol of how Italian food culture is often misunderstood, simplified or disrespected.
After talking it through with my mentor, I realized that adding a hint of blood could help reinforce the idea of cannibalism and make the image stand out more. So, I decided to download some blood vectors to experiment with how they might look.
Additionally, I decided to change the font of the title after getting some feedback. At first, I wanted to have blood dripping from the typography to create something dramatic, but it ended up feeling a bit over the top. I wanted something more subtle and clean, so I went with a simpler look, keeping in mind that 'less is more.'
On the back cover of the cookbook, I added a quote that really captures the spirit of Italian cooking. I chose one by Mario Batali because it felt like the perfect way to tie everything together and end the book on a meaningful note.
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