Behind-the-Scenes: Book Design for Royal Icing Cookies

When I start the design for any book, I always start with the visuals we’ve collected as the book comes together: the photos, the mood board, and I check out the author’s other titles or online presence. During my research, I discovered that the author, Morgan Beck, and I both attended the College of Design at Iowa State University (go Cyclones)! I love a good “small world” moment.

A big part of my inspiration for any book design comes from the projects themselves and the photography. The vignettes of each little project are so charming! Each little cookie has such detail and personality, which makes for a beautiful display, but it can also feel a little intimidating for the novice maker. The how-to photography was so perfectly set up to describe the process in little “bites” (see what I did there). It reminded me of a time lapse video, making it easy to follow from one step to the next.

I wanted the pages to have little details throughout to mirror the whimsy of the cookies. The graphics are reminiscent of a cute little cookie shop downtown: the polka dots, the awning, and the little drops like frosting.

I hope all the aspiring cookie artists out there have as much fun flipping through these designs as I did!

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April Mostek is the Senior Graphic Designer at C&T Publishing.