Studio concept, nonfiction
Salt and Smoke
A cookbook concept with the food as the hero
The brief
What the concept set out to do
Design a cover for a cookbook about cooking over fire. It should feel premium and photographic, with a title that can stand on its own in a bookshop display.
Approach
Design decisions
- A single dish on a plate, lit from the side, fills the lower half; the top half is reserved for a big display serif title.
- Near-black background and a warm plate make the food glow, which is the whole promise of the book.
- The subtitle is set in an italic to soften the heavy title and hint at seasons rather than technique.
- The layout leaves the spine and back cover with the same black ground so the whole wraparound reads as one object.
What it demonstrates
Cookbook covers live or die on one image; the design job is to make space for it and let the type frame it.
Deliverables shown in this concept
- Front cover concept
- Interior recipe page template
- Wraparound layout with spine
Books A Nation's contribution to a studio concept is the whole design: concept, typography and artwork. For client books, our contribution is stated on each project only once the author has confirmed it.
Want this approach on your own book?
Our interior formatting and typesetting service starts with a brief like the one above and ends with files you own.
Related reading: Print and ebook formatting checklist
