Need Help on Cookbook design?!
ive been assigned a side job at work!.!.everyone in the building will bring in a recipe of some sort!.!.i have to put it all together in a cookbook !.!.which we will sell here at work and add the profit to the "fun" bank which we use to do special things here at work (yes i relize that sounds lame) but i need some help!.!.how should i design it!?!?!? im sure there will be several different kinds of recipes so there is no real particular theme!.!.!.what should i name it!?!? the building is call MAI where i work!.!.id like to some how incorporate that into the title or something!.!.!.any ideas!?!? thanks for helping Www@FoodAQ@Com
Answers:
Well, when approaching a cook book of varying types of food, it is best to approach it as so:
1) create folders for each category of food!. (breads, casseroles, desserts, drinks, etc!.) Then place the recipes in these folders as you receive them (These can be digital or not)!.
2) Prepare a brief outline of the proposed book (This outline can also be used for the basis of a table of contents), and prepare a hand drawn layout before you approach a computer (You will have significantly better results if you know what your doing before you approach the computer than if you try to make it on the fly)!.
3) Decide upon a binding method!. Spiral binding is probably the easiest and least expensive method, and is typically the method of choice for small grade cook book publishing!. However, there are a lot of nifty online printers that offer other binding methods at increasingly less expensive prices than before!.
4) Compile your book in the program of choice, InDesign, MS Publisher, the free program scribus ( http://www!.osalt!.com/scribus ), or MS Word!. I would advise not using MS Word, since it will likely frustrate you to attempt making a book in it (However, if it's all you got, go for it)!.
5) Adjust your design for printer margins, and bindings!. (Don't want the binding to block the recipe do we!? So contact your printer and figure out how much on the side should be allowed for the margins)
6) Print, bind, sell, distribute!. (However, in order to prevent the cost from being too heavy, you might have them pre-order it)
Low-Cost Alternative: Print it on 11x17 inch paper as a two page spread, and staple your book as is done for inexpensive magazines (using a saddle stapler)!.
On the visual Design: MAI!. Hmmm!. :: giggles :: I'd suggest a cute piece of artwork on the front, use a clean font, and a nice graphic!. Choose a decent color for the cover as well!. The biggest selling points will be convenience and quantity of recipes!.
A title, how about one of the following: "Come what MAI" "MAI's Kitchen Companion" "MAI's Favorites" "My Abbey Ingestion Manual" Just start writing down ideas until the one you like comes out!.Www@FoodAQ@Com
1) create folders for each category of food!. (breads, casseroles, desserts, drinks, etc!.) Then place the recipes in these folders as you receive them (These can be digital or not)!.
2) Prepare a brief outline of the proposed book (This outline can also be used for the basis of a table of contents), and prepare a hand drawn layout before you approach a computer (You will have significantly better results if you know what your doing before you approach the computer than if you try to make it on the fly)!.
3) Decide upon a binding method!. Spiral binding is probably the easiest and least expensive method, and is typically the method of choice for small grade cook book publishing!. However, there are a lot of nifty online printers that offer other binding methods at increasingly less expensive prices than before!.
4) Compile your book in the program of choice, InDesign, MS Publisher, the free program scribus ( http://www!.osalt!.com/scribus ), or MS Word!. I would advise not using MS Word, since it will likely frustrate you to attempt making a book in it (However, if it's all you got, go for it)!.
5) Adjust your design for printer margins, and bindings!. (Don't want the binding to block the recipe do we!? So contact your printer and figure out how much on the side should be allowed for the margins)
6) Print, bind, sell, distribute!. (However, in order to prevent the cost from being too heavy, you might have them pre-order it)
Low-Cost Alternative: Print it on 11x17 inch paper as a two page spread, and staple your book as is done for inexpensive magazines (using a saddle stapler)!.
On the visual Design: MAI!. Hmmm!. :: giggles :: I'd suggest a cute piece of artwork on the front, use a clean font, and a nice graphic!. Choose a decent color for the cover as well!. The biggest selling points will be convenience and quantity of recipes!.
A title, how about one of the following: "Come what MAI" "MAI's Kitchen Companion" "MAI's Favorites" "My Abbey Ingestion Manual" Just start writing down ideas until the one you like comes out!.Www@FoodAQ@Com
if you ar doing grafics on the cover perhaps !.!.!.!.a countertop with a cookbook on it and it reads MAI on the right side of it is a mirrored wall the reflection reads IAM underneath you write !.!.!.!.
!.!.!.the chef or maybe i should stay off the drugs but goodluck anywayWww@FoodAQ@Com
!.!.!.the chef or maybe i should stay off the drugs but goodluck anywayWww@FoodAQ@Com
The melting potWww@FoodAQ@Com
you should do a pop up theme!. you could name it magic and imagination!. (MAI)Www@FoodAQ@Com
chaosWww@FoodAQ@Com
Wow, that is some assignment! Hopefully you have access to those machines that use plastic combs so the book stays open when you use it!. (Good selling point!.) You need something catchy!.!.!.!.do you pronounce MAI like "my"!? If so, you could call it MAI Favorite Recipes!. Then when the recipes come in organize them into categories and put them in the order that you serve a meal: appetizers, soups and salads, entrees, vegetables / side dishes, desserts, beverages, and for those special recipes, "specialties"!. Believe me, there are always some recipes that do not fit into a category! That is part of the fun of it!. Maybe you could find someone who could draw appropriate pictures for each category, or even find some online!. The cover could have pictures of your co-workers or something from your organization!. If you could get clear plastic to put over the cover it would be functional as well as look nice!. Whatever you come up with, I am sure it will be great and your group will make some fun money for you all! Good luck! Www@FoodAQ@Com