Creating an heirloom family cookbook Grandma would be proud of
About the project
I inherited my Grandma’s recipe box, with it’s lifetime of memories and family traditions. It’s been the project of a lifetime to curate them into a cookbook that’s worthy of her legacy.
Creating an Heirloom
My Grandma was the heartbeat of our family, regularly hosting huge family gatherings at her house. She created a place where we all wanted to be, and in turn created a recipe for a close family. I wanted to create an heirloom that not only honored her, but incorporated memories and traditions from our family as well.
I started by scanning in all the recipes in her box. There were many handwritten ones, but also a ton of newspaper and magazine clippings. I uploaded the scans to a wordpress site, where I created a post for every recipe. Then I had family members log into the site to vote on which recipes were important to keep, and to leave comments on their favorite recipes to incorporate in the book.
Once we’d curated the number of recipes, I created an Airtable database of the recipes to be included in the book. I tapped my family to help type the ingredients and instructions into the airtable, then created a system for checking the formatting and accuracy.
It was important to include scans of the original recipes in the cookbook, so I also spent a lot of time in Photoshop and LightRoom masking and color correcting the scans. Photoshop actions made the work faster, and LightRoom presets helped with color correction.
In addition to the recipe cards, I also wanted photos of some of our favorites. While my dad is a photographer, I’d never been especially good at it. But with some internet research and a set of food photography backgrounds, I got suprisingly good results! I have a blog post brewing in my head on “how not to suck at food photography.”
The book itself all came together in InDesign. I really wish I could have used Figma…but Adobe has the corner market on print layout. Creating a style guide and design language in InDesign was – frankly – maddening. There are so many paradigms I’ve come to expect in my design software that InDesign is sadly lacking. The project probably took 30% longer than it should have because there were so many elements of my design language that I should have been able to update in one place, but the functionality either didn’t work like it should, or didn’t exist at all.
In the end, I’m incredibly proud of the high quality product, and how meaningful it’s been to our family and family friends to have this tribute to my beloved Grandma in print form.
How would AI write this case study…
as an Elizabeth Barrett Browning poem?
Amidst the tracks of commerce’s domain,
At Sam’s, where products strive to rise and reign,
I, partnering with owners, join the race,
To elevate their goods and find their place.
With research as my guide, I humbly seek,
The needs and woes that employees speak,
In interviews, their voices softly heard,
From their frustrations, wisdom is conferred.
Strategy and roadmap, I do conceive,
For product improvements, I believe,
And in Figma’s realm, designs take flight,
Growing in fidelity, shining bright.
Through user checks, our assumptions align,
Validating ideas, a sacred sign,
Then, in detailed documentation’s prose,
Developers transform dreams to reality’s throes.
In one track, an AI tool takes its stance,
An intuitive interface, a pricing dance,
A matrix complex, data points abound,
Pricing managers in scenarios found.
The data’s fascinating, though I confess,
The nerdery escapes me, I acquiesce,
Yet, sinking teeth into this cool endeavor,
I embrace the challenge with fervor.
Together with the design team, I embark,
To build a DLS, robust and stark,
The current system, old and rickety,
A proposal emerges for a new decree.
Rebuilding and migrating, the path we choose,
To revitalize with vigor and refuse,
And in Storybook’s embrace, we see,
Easier dev integration, a harmonious decree.
Amidst the tracks of Sam’s, where commerce thrives,
I strive to elevate, as passion drives,
For in this realm of innovation’s grace,
Products and design find their rightful place.
Research
System Design
Design Language
Information Architecture
High-Fidelity Visual Design
Pauline’s Table Cookbook
Front and back covers showcase food photography, which include mementos and elements that originally belonged to my Grandma.
Recipe Page
Recipe pages include handwritten recipes, photos, notes on where the original came from, and memories from family members.
Section Title
Each section title page includes recipe photos with page reference numbers.
InDesign “DLS”
Besides color swatches, this is as much of a DLS as I could manage in InDesign. Despite the appearance of keeping a design system organized, InDesign did not play nice even within the paradigms it created.
Wheat Bread photo shoot
I used matte, water resistant photo backgrounds, along with many of my Grandma’s kitchen items to personalize the photos.
Pauline’s Table Cookbook
Wordpress site for gathering feedback
Family voted on whether or not to include recipes in the cookbook, and left comments on recipes, which were included as notes in the cookbook
Recipe Management Airtable
Airtable provided the perfect place to organize and manage recipes, while sharing the database with family who offered to help type in recipes.
Recipe Page
