ABOUT

KATE DEMBOWSKI

Cooking & Design: Thinking Visually in the Kitchen

Why Cooking & Design?

During my final semester at CCS, I’ve spent a lot of time reflecting on how much design impacts our daily lives. I’ve started noticing the fundamentals of design almost everywhere I go. Color contrast, hierarchy, grid usage, and visual flow are all important qualities that impact the way something is perceived. Thinking about how I’ve applied these principles to other aspects of my life was a unique experience.

Cooking is something I do daily, without consciously thinking about my process. I often get asked about my methods, tricks, and recipes. I have no formal culinary training, but I believe that a big part of cooking comes from visual cues and setting guidelines for yourself. I’ve had a passion for cooking since I learned how to simplify the process through a more design-based perspective.

Overview:

Cooking & Design is a uniquely informative visual book describing my processes around cooking through the lens of a visual designer. Written from my perspective and experiences, it’s casual, lighthearted, and straightforward. For those of us who don’t like to read, Cooking & Design takes a highly visual approach my chosen information included. After all, a picture is worth a thousand words, right?

Audience:

Those who say they can’t cook or have a hard time being inspired in the kitchen.

Process + Outcomes:

TTo begin my process, I spent time reflecting on my hobbies, interests, creative process, and personal values. After creating an in-depth list of potential thesis topics, I thought carefully about the playful, yet punchy story I wanted to tell.

I created three unique concepts with vastly different subject matter to share with my peers.

After selecting my topic of comparing my cooking process to the principles of design, I began to research the two subjects. I learned about crucial cooking methods, ingredient pairings, early forms of communication, and design movements that have evolved throughout history.

I compared the underlying themes of cooking and design to find that they had many similarities.

After organizing my research, I created a visual mood board to showcase each theme and evoke a sense of playfulness within my book. Taking inspiration from cookbooks and magazine spreads, my visual direction was bold, playful, and editorial with pops of extremely bright colors. With this in mind, I prioritized images to emphasize the visual design principles used in my cooking processes.

I began to iterate spreads, write content, and photograph my meals. I wanted the language in my book to be authentic and informal so readers could further understand my voice.

Each meal I created was photographed in a variety of ways, with many macro photography shots to show the beauty of each ingredient. I regularly cook a variety of meals and wanted to showcase the foods I enjoy making.

As I continued the design process, I went with darker colors to symbolize different flavor groupings commonly found in each dish. I chose a dark red to represent spice, warm yellow for savory, light pink for salt, and a sour blue to represent tartness.