The Zenith project was the change for ultimate creative freedom, and I’ve had so much fun exploring new passions. The dictionary definition of Zenith is “the time at which something is most powerful or successful.” After two years at Freestyle of acquiring many skills, I believe this name perfectly represents the Zenith project.
For my own Zenith project, I decided to make and design my own cookbook. Food Things embodies both cherished childhood favorites and recipes from my culinary journey thus far. It originated from a Snapchat story I made during my junior year, showcasing my culinary adventures. What began as an honest joke has evolved into a cherished personal tradition, serving as a culinary cornerstone that I was very excited to dig deeper into through the Zenith project! After working on this project and brushing up on my cooking skills, I’m excited to put them to use even more in the future.
Although the core of my project utilized skills that weren’t necessarily taught in any of my classes at Freestyle, the background and abilities I’ve gained over the past two years were very helpful during my production, especially when it came to designing the book itself.
Getting Started!
My planning process consisted of:
- Making a mood board and Pinterest folder to jumpstart my inspiration
- Plan and decide what recipes I wanted in my book
- Designing the book itself in InDesign
- Taking photos of all the food
- Organizing and adjusting the layout
I then figured out the layout and spreads of the recipes I wanted to include.
And then began the process of designing and making the book!
Progress Shots
Final Product!!
Reflection
Crafting and designing the cookbook for my zenith project was eye-opening. Beyond recipes, it unveiled creative loopholes, honed my culinary skills, and became a canvas for my personal memories. I struggled with having so much white space and not knowing where to start with most of the pages, but overall, this project has been one that I came to class excited to work on each day. I love how each page is uniquely made to my preference and that I am able to share this project with so many other people in my family who I know value the recipes as much as I do.