OUGD405: Research, Collect, Communicate: Product

As I had finished the design of my publication, I now had to print and bind it. As I had done the design on InDesign, it was really simple to set it up for print, just a few settings needed changing. 

As I was printing a booklet, I chose Print Booklet under the File tab, and because I wanted the pages to fold left to right, I chose short-edge binding. I was also using my own stock, Antique White paper, to give an authentic feel so I had to change the Paper Feed to Bypass Tray. The Booklet Type was 2-up Saddle Stitch and I checked the box to Print Blank Pages, as I had one at the end. I also wanted it printing on A3 because even though the individual pages were A5, the double page spread would be A4, and I needed space for bleeding. I also added crop marks so that when I was cutting them down I would know where to cut. 
Then I sent it to print, and when it came out it had a blue line on all of the sheets which ruined it a bit, but it isn't that noticeable. 

As it was printed on A3, I had to crop it down quite a lot as it looked like this.

I got a metal ruler, cutting board and scalpel to cut the pages, but the paper was thicker than I thought, and I had to go over a couple of times with the scalpel before it went all the way through. The first page I did had a few rough bits because of this, but i cut them away and pressed harder with the other pages so that it didn't happen again.

I scored down the middle very lightly with the scalpel so that they would fold easily. When I cut them all out, I folded them and put them in the right order. I also marked three dots on the spine where I am going to bind them.

To bind them, I went to the wood workshop to drill a hole in the three places were I marked the spine. Then I got a needle and thread, and Simon showed me how to stitch it together, which was actually really simple. 

OUGD405: Research, Collect, Communicate: Product

After I created my recipes and research illustrations, I started to make my own. I used a graphic tablet to create these and here are the sketches I did first:

Then I edited them and added colour to them on Illustrator. I changed the opacity to 80% on all of the illustrations, so that when different parts of the food overlapped, the shade turned darker in that area. As I did them all on a graphics tablet, they all have imperfect lines and nothing is completely straight. I used the Smooth Tool on certain things to make lines less jagged. I wanted them to look inaccurate and be quite rough though, as during the war everything was homemade, and people made the best out of what they had - make do and mend - and I wanted the illustrations to reflect the handmade, imperfect lifestyle.

As I was making the illustrations, I was adding them to a page layout, just so that I could see what it would look like in context. 

When I started to think about page layout however, I went onto InDesign and made some guides on the A Master slide so that I could stick to the same layout throughout. I decided to make the grid like this because I had different amounts of information and illustrations on each page, and it needed to be consistent and look the same throughout.

Then I started to add all the information on:

Some of the recipes had fewer ingredients than others, so pages like the Rice Pudding and Fish Pudding look quite sparse in comparison to the Beef Pot-Roast and Rabbit Stew, but I still think it looks consistent because I haven't had to lower the point size of any text to make it fit the page, or enlarged any to eliminate white space, and the text starts at the same place on every page.

I drew how I wanted the front cover to look like first, and I wanted to create something which was simple and still handmade, to go with the rest of the theme. I traced it onto Illustrator using the graphics tablet, and made it into a Live Paint object so I could easily colour it in. 

I then chose red and blue to colour it in with because they are the colours of the British flag, and I thought they would show the patriotism the country had during the War. For the text, I found it hard to warp the type on Illustrator because it didn't flow with the banner, and it looked too polished with the hand drawn illustration. So I printed of 'BRITISH WARTIME RECIPES' in Adobe Garamond Pro and traced it on the graphics tablet. I then edited the characters slightly, and placed them onto the banner. I think this looks a lot better because it fits in with the uneven lines of the banner and illustrations throughout the book.  

Following some feedback about my recipe book, Alex said that he liked everything apart from the font which was featured on the contents page. I have to agree with this, and I think that the Tommasso font makes the text look too overcrowded. So I changed the font to Adobe Garamond Pro, but in bold.

Now I am ready to print.

OUGD405: Research, Collect, Communicate: Product

As I read a book on war-time recipes, I decided to think of some that will go in my recipe book.
I want different sections, with things that were most eaten during the war. I think that including a Soup, Stews, Fish, Meat, Vegetable and Pudding section would be appropriate, and with two recipes for each section. 

Here are some recipes that I have made:

Soup:
Butternut Squash and Swede
2 butternut squash
2 swede
4 cups water or vegetable stock
1 cup of milk

serves four

time: 30mins 

peel and chop the squash and swede into small chunks
put them into a saucepan with the water/vegetable stock and cook for 20 minutes
when soft enough, run them through a sieve and add a cupful of milk
put the soup back in the saucepan and bring to the boil
season with salt and pepper and serve

Pumpkin
1 pumpkin
1 onion
2 rosemary sprigs
3 cups water or vegetable stock
1 cup of cream (optional)

serves six

time: 25 mins

peel, deseed and chop the pumpkin into small chunks 
chop the onion into small chunks
add both to the saucepan, cover and cook for 8-10 minutes, occasionally stirring until it is soft
pour the water or vegetable stock and rosemary into the pan
run it through a sieve until thick and smooth
add a cupful of cream if you have any, and bring to the boil
season with salt and pepper and serve

Stew:
Rabbit Stew
2 young rabbits
2 sprigs of thyme
1 onion
1/2 oz butter
water or vegetable stock 
2 bay leaves
3 carrots
3 tbsp flour

serves: 5

time: 2 hours 20 mins

joint rabbit into 8 pieces
cover joints in flour, thyme, salt and pepper
melt butter in a frying pan and fry the rabbit pieces
add the onion into the pan after a few minutes
once golden-brown, put them both into a casserole dish
add the vegetable stock or water into the dish with the bayleaves
stir with a wooden spoon and cook in oven for 45 mins
then add the carrots and turn over the rabbit pieces and continue to cook for 1 hour 30 mins
check that the rabbit is cooked by poking a knife in and see if it slides in easily and if the meat is falling of the bone
if it isn't continue to cook for half an hour until it is cooked
then simmer the casserole on the hob for 5 minutes until the liquid thickens 
season with salt and pepper and serve

Vegetable Stew
2 potato
3 carrots
1 leek
water or vegetable stock
herbs such as bay leaf, basil, parsley or sage

serves: 5

time: 1 hour and 10 minutes

wash, peel and slice all vegetables
put them in a casserole dish, and fill with water or stock til vegetables are covered
add salt and pepper, and herbs
cover with lid and simmer for an hour
check vegetables are soft and serve

you can use any vegetables for this recipe

Fish:
Fishcakes
3 fillets of cod
6 potatoes
1 egg
sage
half cupful of milk
flour

makes 12

time: 50 mins

chop fish up into small pieces, add to saucepan and boil for 30 mins
peel and chop potatoes, add to seperate saucepan and boil for 3o mins
drain both the fish and the potatoes
mash the potatoes with milk, and add plenty of sage
sprinkle some flour on the surface
beat an egg and start to mix the fish and the potato together using the egg to bind it together
mould the mixture into little fishcakes, covering both sides in flour, and make sure you use more fish than potato
either fry these immediately, or freeze

Fish Pudding
2 cod fillets
1 tbsp salt
1 1/2 cupful of heavy cream
3 egg whites

serves 5

time: 1 hour and 15 mins

wash the fish and remove the skin and bones
chop the fish into small pieces and sprinkle with salt
beat the egg whites together with the cream
add the fish and mix well
pour into a mold and then transfer into a casserole dish with hot water in it
cover and bake for one hour in the oven

Meat:
Shepherd's Pie
3 potatoes
3 carrots
1lb mince meat
1 onion
tomato puree
cheese

serves: 4

time: 1 hour

peel and chop potatoes, put into a saucepan, cover the lid and boil for 30 mins until soft
peel and slice carrots, put them into a saucepan, cover the lid and boil for 30 mins until soft
put mince meat and onions into a saucepan, and cook until brown 
add tomate puree to mince meat then put the mince meat, onions and carrots into a casserole dish
mash the potato, and spread it on top in the casserole dish, and grate the cheese on top
bake in oven for 20 mins and serve

Beef Pot-Roast
1kg beef (clod, chuck or topside)
3 onions
4 carrots
3 sticks of celery
1/2 swede
1 bay leaf
1 sprig of thyme
1 tbsp beef fat

serves 6

time: 3 hours 15 mins

melt beef fat in a stewpan then add meat and cook until brown all over
add a teacupful of hot water, bay leaf and thyme
surround the meat with carrots, onions, celery and swede in the pan
cover with lid and cook on a low heat for three hours
season with salt and pepper and serve

Pudding:
British Fruit Pie
1 cupful raspberries
1 cupful blackberries
1 cupful blueberries
milk
sugar
double 9 inch pie short crust pastry

serves 8

time: 1 hour

wash and drain the berries and mix in a bowl
spread crust on bottom of a pie dish
pour the berries into the crust 
add sugar to taste and stir
place top crust over the filling and paint with milk
bake in the oven for 45 minutes
you can use any fruit which can be grown in your garden such as rhubarb, strawberries, apple, cherries, pear, redcurrants or plums

Rice Pudding
4oz pudding rice
1pt milk
14oz evaporated milk
1oz caster sugar
1 whole nutmeg

serves 6

time: 2 hours 10 mins

mix the whole milk and evaporated milk together
put the rice and sugar into an ovenproof dish
pour in the milk, and stir well together
grate the nutmeg over the top
put in the oven for 30 minutes, stir, then cook for a further 30 mins and stir again
then put back in the oven to bake for an hour and serve

I would also need a front cover, contents and a back cover.

You can find the sources for my recipes here on my context blog.

OUGD405 - Research, Collect, Communicate: PRODUCT

From the initial research topic that I had to research, which was World War One, I now have to decide whether I want to create a Publication, Packaging or Distribution, using information graphics.

I created a spider diagram of some possible ideas:

I have decided to go with the Publication idea of creating a cookbook, as I am interested in cooking, and I didn't want to focus on a depressing topic of the war. I thought this was more lighthearted, as it doesn't focus on death or weapons or anything like that. I thought that by creating recipes that could be made from the rations that families lived on during the war would be appropriate because it keeps to the theme of my research topic, and is something that I would enjoy. 

I have also never done bookbinding before, so I thought this would be a good time to experiment doing that. 

I am now going to research into the rations that were available during the war, and the recipes that they used. Then I will create some recipes out of the food that was available, and the vegetables that were grown in peoples allotments. 

OUGD405 - RATIONALE Research, Collect, Communicate: Product

Publication and Promotion/Product and Distribution/Product and Packaging* (*delete as appropriate). Why have you made this decision?
I have decided to choose publication as I am going to create a cookbook including recipes which can be made from the rations that people got in Word War 1, or even World War 2, as they were used a lot more in the second war. I thought publication was the most appropriate because thats the main medium in which recipes are presented in.

Who is the audience and how do you intend to engage with them?
People who are interested in cooking, have an allotment (many people in the war had an allotment in their garden to grow vegetables), have a limited food budget or are just interested in cooking from a different era/culture.

What is the function of the product - is it supposed to inform/ educate/ document/ entertain/ instruct? What has informed this decision?
It is supposed to inform the audience what ingredients to get for the recipe, and and instruct them on the method of how to cook the meal. This is the function of cookbooks so I applied it to this idea.

How will the audience interact with the product?
They will read it, and follow the instructions for the recipes to create meals, and can refer to it for help when cooking.

OUGD405 - Typogateaux

Here is the process of making my cake.

Here are most of the ingredients that I needed for the cake. 

I put all of the oreos in a bag and crushed them. I had to double bag it, because the first bag split. I then poured them equally into cupcake cases.

I started measuring out all of the ingredients on the scales.

I mixed together the flour, cocoa powder, salt and baking powder. In a separate bowl I mixed sugar and butter together til it became fluffy and combined, and added an egg and vanilla extract. Then I bought them both together, whisking until it came cake batter.

I then poured the mixture equally on top of the crushed oreos in the cupcake cases.

Then I cooked them for 18 minutes on 180 degrees in my oven. Me and my flatmates tested one and liked it.

Following the instructions for the chocolate fudge cake, I greased the tin.

I followed all of the instructions to make the chocolate fudge cake, however the two cakes are supposed to be on top of each other with the fudge filling between them. But then I thought it didn't look big enough, because I had to fit the outline of the world on top, and the cupcakes. Therefore I put them side by side instead, for a thinner but wider cake. I put them on the biggest baking tray I could find for presenting, but it still wasn't big enough so I had to slice a little bit off one side.

When I looked at the size of the cakes, and the cupcakes, I realised that the cupcakes would be too big and heavy to put on wire in the cake, because the cake is quite thin. So at this point I thought it would be a better idea just to put the cupcakes on top of each country.

To make the frosting I mixed butter, vanilla extract and sugar together with a spoon which took a while to get the right consistency. I then started adding crushed oreo into it to create a speckled effect.

I had to add a loooooooot of food colouring to get the desired effect, but I was happy with this blue for the sea.

I started spreading the frosting on top of the cake, creating a wave effect as I did it.

I was going to create the frosting again but with green food colouring for the land, but then decided it would be more definable and recognisable if I cut it out of ready to roll icing. However, I only had white icing, so I broke up some small chunks of it and dropped a few drops of food colouring in and put it in the microwave for 20 seconds. When it came out i mixed it together so it changed the colouring to green. I then waited a while for it to cool down and harden, so that I could roll it out. Once I did that I used the image of the world map to see what shapes and size I should be cutting the icing out, which I did with a scalpel.

I also thought now that the world is on, the cupcakes would cover up a lot of the design because they are so big compared to the cake. This made me think that I should put all of the cupcakes at the bottom with the letter on, and join them up somehow to each country.

I made some icing and dripped it on the top of the cupcakes, which I had also cut into a square. This was so that the letters would stand out better on them, and cover up the sponge. By putting white icing on top of them, I could use some of the green fondant icing I made for the letters.

I started cutting out the letters to go on top of the cake, which took longer than I thought to get them to look right! Here is Courier and Bodoni.

To join up the letters to the countries they originated from, I brought some strawberry laces so that it was still edible. Overall,  it definitely isn't what I envisioned it would look like, but my flatmates asked me to bake another batch of cupcakes at midnight so it couldn't have tasted that bad!

OUGD405 - Typogateaux

We have to create a cake in the form of a letter of a glyph, and here are my pages of inital ideas from my sketchbook:

I have one idea that I really want to do, and one back-up idea incase that one doesn't work. The first one is to make the world map, and have cupcakes on wire coming out of certain parts of the world. If that doesn't work, then I want to create a word/alphabet in ombre, to suggest the pantone colour referencing system.

As I didn't know what flavour to do my cake, I created a poll, and the most popular answer was chocolate fudge:

I have done research on cakes and recipes to support my ideas here.