Mama’s Recipes
Editorial Design · Illustration · Book Layout · Visual Storytelling
Mama’s Recipes is an editorial and illustration project that transforms family cooking into a visually rich, story-driven book. Packed with traditional recipes from my mother and my homeland, playful step-by-step illustrations, and personal notes on everything from handling spicy meals to embracing messy hands, the book blends personal storytelling with professional editorial design.
Messy Hands and a Recipe Book Full of Heart
The Brief
The starting question was simple: “If I created a manual about myself, what would I teach others?” The answer was immediate and personal: How to eat, share, and enjoy Mexican food together. The goal was to design a recipe book that goes beyond simple instructions, one that captures unexpected flavors, spicy reactions, laughter, and the deep emotional connection behind comfort food. The project balances editorial structure with humor and warmth, presenting food as a shared cultural experience rather than just a meal.
Because this project functions as a manual, the recipe book format became the most natural editorial framework. This format allowed me to:
Showcase editorial layout design in a clear, structured format.
Translate family recipes into English while preserving their original spirit.
Design step-by-step instructions that are visually engaging and easy to follow.
Add playful commentary about the real (and often intense) reactions people have when eating bold, spicy food.
Research involved collecting and translating handwritten family recipes, refining measurements, and shaping the content to feel approachable for a broader audience.
Research & Development
Layout & Editorial Design Decisions
The book is organized into three main sections to guide the reader through a complete editorial experience:
The Recipes: The heart of the project, featuring traditional dishes presented through thoughtful hierarchy.
Eating Behaviors & Reactions: A humorous section exploring the physical and emotional reactions to spicy food, designed with expressive illustrations.
Cinematic Quotes: To enrich the narrative, I included quotes from culinary films like Julie & Julia, connecting Mexican home cooking to a global love for food and having a typographic moment.
Design Elements & Illustration
Beyond the core layout, I developed a complete visual system:
Custom book architecture: Including cover design, index, pagination, and grid system.
Iconography: Over 40 hand-drawn ingredient icons created in Adobe Illustrator using vector brushes.
Digital Illustration: Photoshop hand-drawn pieces that highlight playful food reactions.
Color Palette: A warm, expressive palette inspired by the atmosphere of traditional and colorful Mexican kitchens.
More than 40 icons that represent the ingredients of the recipes where hand drawn in Illustrator
Book Experience
To extend the project beyond the printed page, I designed complementary physical items that enhance the storytelling:
Branded Salt-and-Pepper Duo: Keeping the style of the book’s visual identity.
Mini Salsa Pocket Book: A portable guide featuring traditional salsa recipes.
These additions reinforce the concept of design books as experiences rather than just objects, demonstrating how editorial design can translate across various formats and products.
