LEFT-OVERS: A memoir of bottomless pots

A Character Sketch of the Book:

Left-Overs is a memoir based on how our eating experiences change throughout the courses of our lives and how family heritage effects those changes.

Right from the beginning, my parents kitchen was used as a mood board for the book. I used a similar colour palette and used the retro feeling of the room to my advantage. It's 70s look and feel was a perfect starting point for the general design of the book.

The book is structured in such a way that each chapter has it's own set of recipes. Each recipe, with the exception of one or two have been mentioned in the text and are tucked at the end of the chapter.

The Evolution of the Project:

Originally, I was going to make most of the recipes vague and somewhat hard to follow in an attempt to mimic the way in which my mum goes about cooking, just throwing this and that in to the pot and seeing if it works. But after thinking about it, I thought that I should make the recipes a little easier to understand for those who might actually like to use it.

I also pictured the book being a little bit more "thrown" together, collaging pictures and recipes together. I decided that perhaps I would treat the book as a blank canvas. Keeping the pages clean and it is for the reader to use and abuse, making their own mark on the book as they splatter vanilla and other such ingredients across the page.

Making Choices:
two important choices you have made concerning your book

Typefaces have always been an issue. Originally, the typefaces were all really clean and geometric. After starring at the book for so long, I knew something wasn't quite right, but couldn't figure it what it was. I ended up changing my main type to something a little bit more clunky and awkward and it ended up being a good contrast between the symmetrical layout of the book.

At the beginning, I had wanted to organize the book in such a way that the recipe would fall throughout the type, interjecting in the story all the way through. I tried this though, and it cut up the story too much and really interrupted the flow of this story. This is when I decided I would place all of the recipes at the end of the story in each chapter in order to make Left-Overs flow smoothly.

Compromises:
Describe some of the things (if time or money wasn't an issue) you might have done differently and what they would have added to your book.

I would have made my book larger if cost weren't such as issue. Making it larger would have been another way to symbolize the large meals that are talked about in the book.

Pleasures and Frustrations:
Talking about book design in general – if you were with other students thinking about enrolling in a book design course (not necessarily this course) what would you tell them to expect and what to consider before they make their decision.

I would tell them to expect a lot of work. You really do have to pull all skills to the table, whether you are good at them or not. You have to be organized and methodical, but know when to let go and try different approaches and ways of thinking. You might have to be an illustrator, a photographer and an author all at the same time. Whatever it is, though, just go for it.

I would also tell them to pick a topic that you really like, because you are going to be thinking about it a lot. When you think that your topic is going to work, keep pursuing it and surely you will get over the hump.