First draft Layout
Using the images from the edit I showed in the week 7 presentation, as well as the ones I took for the introduction and the front cover, I began to create a first draft of my book using indesign. I created an a5 template with 50 pages to start with as this is a rough amount of how many pages I expect to use and I will just add more as I go if I need to.
With the front cover I first placed the image onto the first page of the template but I felt like it was missing something like a subheading to add more context to the book. So I decided a title such as cakes and bakes by Amber McGovern was good to just further tell you what the contents of the book will involve. However this didn't look right on top of the background of the image as the flowers and textures were a bit too distracting below it. So I edited the image in photoshop and created a white vignette around the blue cake just to fade them out a little bit more and make it more bright and airy, less distracting for the text. This really solved the issue and now the blue text to match the cake sits a lot better at the bottom and doesn't look as busy.
In terms of the overall structure from the book I am basing it off my initial research and the books I have been looking at for reference. I put two blank pages after the cover which then leads onto the contents page. In terms of the font for the titles I wanted something that creates a sort of wholesome, handwritten sort of feel to it which I couldn't find on indesign so I had a look on a website called dafont and I found a font called Kiss Boom which matched what I was looking for perfectly. For the bigger titles I wanted to make the font my own a little bit so I put an 'x' either side of them just to add a little finishing touch as I thought this was quite a sweet touch. On the topic of personalisation, I have also included an introduction page, where I want to talk about my personal love of baking and photography, and how much I enjoy them both hand in hand. I have also included a photograph here where I am looking into the camera with a slight smile to make it more personal and putting a face to the book. I have seen this done in all of the baking books I have looked at and It is a consistent feature to include.
From here I have decided to add in an equipment essentials page, Where I will list all of the must haves in your cupboard in order to be able to bake what's in the book. I think this is quite an important page for this genre as the last thing people using it would want to happen is they begin to bake a recipe and realise they don't have a tool that is required of them half way through. This is something that has happened to me before and it can be quite frustrating. From this section I move onto the main recipes, and I have separated these in to categories based on what types of bakes they are, which are:
- Cookies and Biscuits
- Cupcakes, Loaves and Traybakes
- Fresh and fruity
- Celebration Cakes
For these introductory pages I wanted to use some of the preparation images and ones of myself that didn't make it to the actual recipe pages which I liked and still wanted to include. To also give a little insight into the section. So for example for the cookies section I used a photo of the cookie dough being weighed out as this is a crucial part to one of the recipes. At this stage I am still working out which Images I want to use and I may swap and change them as I complete the design further.
For the recipe pages I have kept the same sort of consistent layout for all of them. Following from what I have seen in other books, keeping the ingredients on one side, and the method on the other. For the longer recipes with more complex methods they lead onto the next page, with the text on the right hand page, and some prep images to help guide the reader on the left. I have left celebration cakes as the last section as they are the most complex and I end on the balloon cake which is the most complex of them all. To sort of end on with a bang, with it being the most creative bake in the book.
In terms of colour scheme I have initially chosen a light peach colour for the inside of the book. When thinking about colours that I thought best represented the feel to the book I wanted I was thinking, bright pastel colours and I tried quite a few different light pinks but these were too light and once the pink got to a more warm hot pink it didn't have the right feel to it. Once I went to peach I found it worked really nicely with the warm tones in the photographs but I am still deciding on a colour and seeing if others work better than others.
I haven't got onto the back cover yet as I am not too sure what I want to do for it. My initial thoughts is to just have it quite plain with a brief description of what the books about. But overall I am fairly happy with the basic construction in terms of image placement and the order of recipes, starting from basics and getting more complex as it goes on. I really love the cover, as I think it adds a really personal and homemade touch and immediately gives off this handmade and warm feeling. I have put a lot into this book and I want that to really come across that I have enjoyed the whole process and I want that to start with the front cover and I feel like this does just that. There is still a lot of tweaking, changing of text placement/size etc and finishing off certain pages to do such as the equipment and back cover but I am happy with my steady progress and where I am up to so far.
I also need to sort out the pages for the balloon cake as I have a lot of text for this cake due to it being quite a complex method so I'm not quite sure how to arrange it. I think I need a few extra images or maybe even one to cover the left page. As I don't want to put both pages of text together as this will be too much for someone to take in and I need the page of text with the balloon instructions to go side by side with the images of its construction. So this is something I need to take some time on and think about.
