The Sea & Me
Having the opportunity to design an outcome so unique and personal to me is something that I thoroughly enjoyed with this self-initiated project. ‘The Sea & Me’ is a seafood cookbook I designed in memory of my late Grandfather, Raymond Elliott.
The cookbook is filled with my family’s original recipes and old polaroid photographs that date back to the 1950s, portraying my own strong connection to the sea and bringing an individual approach. As well as recipes, it also demonstrates various preparation methods, so you can learn as you cook. It was beneficial to create an outcome for myself and my family for a change, instead of for a client!
My Grandfather was born in Seaton in 1938 and raised in Brixham, where he later joined the Fleet Air Arm in the Royal Navy and served for nine years as an Aircraft Mechanic, but he was not the first family member to work out at sea; there are records of his family working as Trawlermen dating back as far as the 1800s, so the sea is really embedded in our bloodstream! The seafood dishes in this cookbook defined the culinary upbringing of my relatives and still remain a huge part of the cooking we do at home today.
Editorial design is always one of my favourite types of graphic design to work with, as I am very passionate about typography and layout, so this self-assigned project allowed me to expand on my InDesign skills even further to create a meaningful outcome. I chose a rough, handwritten font for this cookbook to echo my family members originally writing the recipes and tips down years ago, so not only did this self-assigned project allow me to explore with editorial design, but also explore my own roots and my family’s past.