Existing Recipe Card Analysis

Rebekah Asquith

The front of this card shows a full page image of an idealised version of a raspberry frangipane tart. There is no text except for what is incorporated into the logo and the title of the recipe. The fact that this image is shown on the front of the card would make an audience interested in the food as they can see how good it looks and this would make them want to cook it.

The little writing that there is on the page, is all in lower case and in white against a green background colour. This is done so that the words will stand out and can be seen and noticed. The fact that the words are all written in lower case letters hints at a casual and informal style. This could be welcoming to the audience and indirectly tell them that making this dessert would be easy and fun. The writing is also a very simple san serif so it is easy to read

This photo is taken is very high quality and all aspects of the image are taken in equally sharp focus. Taking the photograph of the dessert in high quality will make people want to make and eat it more as it looks the best that it can.

The layout of the front of this recipe card is quite balanced and is easy on the eyes – there is not much going on. The green rectangles on both the top and bottom of the card balance out the image well and also go well with the bit of green used in the photograph on the garnish leaf.

The colour scheme used here – the green – is a fresh colour and is also the colour that can make people more creative so is relevant for cooking. It is also incorporated into the green used in the photograph as the garnish leaf. The white on this card also seems to play a significant part in the colour scheme and the make-up of the card. There is white used in the logo, the title of the recipe and also in the photograph. The green is bright and noticeable, yet does not take any attention away from the subject of the card – the photograph of the tart. This is the perfect balance and way to use a colour scheme. I will employ a technique like this into making my own recipe cards.

I like the way that this recipe is presented on the front of the card. I think that it is simple but effective in a way that it makes people who see the image want to make the food as it looks appetising.

Aspects from this recipe card that I would use and like to employ into my own work would be the way that the colour scheme has been chosen due to the detail of the garnish leaf in the image. I also like the way that the image is set out with a background that applies to the recipe card.

The content of the back of this recipe card is much different to the front. The main content of this side is the text, where as the main content of the front was the photograph of the food.

The writing style here is quite simple and easy to follow. In the method, there are a lot of imperative words used which makes what you need to do to make the dessert much easier. The method seems to be quite short which would make people interested in reading it as it is not too much text.

The font and text that has been chosen to be used here has been done so carefully to make it easy to read. The green white colour background/text combination that is used on the front has been repeated here but reversed where the background is white. This makes it easy to read as there is a colour contrast. The information at the top of the page such as how many the dessert will serve, the preparation time and the cooking time are all included in a simple way that delivers the necessary info well. There is also a calligraphy-like font used up the right side of the card to state the name of the recipe again.

There is another image on this side of the card that is a close up shot of a part of the original image. This is again an idealised image of what the food should look like and will make you want to make it more. The image is still in very high quality.

The layout of this side of the card is pretty spaced out, however the card is still busy and has a lot going on but it is not too overwhelming that it would disinterest someone in reading it.

The colour scheme used – green and white – is used to represent freshness and the kind of natural, organic feel that you get from eating vegetarian, The white represents purity, this could be suggested by the fact that you are making the food yourself you know that it is just the pure ingredients that are going into it. This is a bonus of making your own food.

I think that the overall appeal of this card is that it is interesting to read and is appealing to someone who would interested in these kinds of recipes. It has a sense of professionalism also which would be appealing to people and they know that they can trust it.

I like this recipe card, I think that it is simple and well organised/laid out. It is easy to follow but there is not so little on the page that it is not interesting to read. I would like to reach the same balance with my recipe cards and a balanced text to image ratio.

The content of the front of this recipe card is a large photograph of the food just like the previous card and a small amount of writing used in the logo and also the title of the recipe.

There isn’t much to say about the writing as there isn’t much of it, however, the little writing that is included is written in lower case letters which gives a sense of informality and friendliness about the recipe and it’s style.

The way that the photograph has been taken, parts of the image are in clear focus and some are not. The ‘leek & chestnut purses’ are in clear focus as they are the main subject of the photograph. We can tell this by looking at the title and the way that the purses are in a larger font that the relish that goes alongside it. One of the ‘leek & chestnut purses’ is broken open to show what it is inside and to show you what it should look like. This is again an idealised version of the food that the cook will be aspiring to achieve.

The colour scheme used here is red and white. I think that the red has been used as the background and the main colour for the cards because there is a small section of the image that is red; the ‘ginger and red pepper relish’. This is the same on the previous recipe card, there is a green garnish leaf that has cause the main colour of that card to be green. I think that this is a nice way to choose a main colour for the colour scheme because then the all of the colours fit together nicely. I would like to employ this into my work when I make my own recipe cards.

The overall appeal of this side of the recipe is that it looks interesting enough that someone would want to learn to cook from it. It also looks appetising to look at.

There are a number of things that I like about the way this recipe card is presented. I like that the photography has been done using a shallow depth of field to put more emphasis on the ‘purses’ but the relish, which is also part of the dish is still included, just not as defined.

I also like that the background of the image (behind and under the plate) has been included, it makes the image look nicer and more detailed. I also like that the text that has been used is all in lower case, I think that this gives an almost casual and chilled out, fun sense to the recipe card.

This side of the card has the list of ingredients and also the method of how to make the meal so there needs to be more text that images here. The image used is a much smaller one, just like the other card. There are the ingredients and method listed and also extra info such as where to go for more recipes like this one, serving info and preparation and cooking times.

The words used here are impersonal and quite indirect where the audience is concerned. I would like to make the instructions on my recipe cards personal and able to connect with the audience; I feel that this would make them more interesting for the audience to read and cook from. The titles of the different sections of the text here are written all in lower case, this also makes the words seem informal and casual, relaxing.

The text is written in a san serif font which is designed to make words easy to read and follow on the page and in the middle of a paragraph.

The detail of the calligraphy writing down the right side of the page is a detail that makes the card more interesting. It would also make it a lot easier to see which recipe card it is if there are a few in a row and you need to find just the one, you can pull out the side of it to see.

All of the text that has been used on this card and the previous card is of the same font, which is clear and easy to read.

The layout of this page is very similar to the last card. There is text that is organised into paragraphs that are then spread evenly across the page. There are no large white spaces that look like they need to be filled with words or an image. The image that is used takes up the space well that would otherwise be blank and white.

The colour scheme here is the same as the flip side of the card. In the image that is used on this side there is quite a distinct use of red again, at the top of the filo pasty ‘purses’ where they have been cooked; this matches the colour of the red that has been used at the top and bottom of the page.

I think that the overall appeal of this recipe card is again quite professional looking and also interesting to look at an appealing to use for it’s purpose.

The content of this side of this recipe card is a large photograph of the finished food product. There is also some text that uses a variety of fonts. I think that there has been a different fond used here to that of the other cards because this is specifically for festive time period and so is different to the others and is established in this way.

The way that there is only one large image that takes up most of the side is a good feature of this card because it shows what the focus is and shows a good close up before going into more detail on the reverse side of the card.

The main photograph is focussed well on the main subject of the image, the ‘festive filo pillow’, however more of a depth of field is used on the other items on the plate and the items behind the plate, so that no attention will be taken away from the subject.

There are small details on the page which make it relative to the ‘festive’ reference that is used in the recipe title. There are sparkles around the title and also a swirly pattern which is also quite festive in the bottom left corner. These are small details that just add interest to the side and may cause people to take more interest in the card.

The layout here is a whole page image with very minimal text. There is a white banner at the bottom of the page which is used to introduce a slogan and a logo into this side of the recipe card. The text that is at the top of the page, the recipe title, is not put into a banner it is just placed over the top of the image. Having the white banner background for the text at the bottom draws attention to those words, which would be the intention here seeing as that is the logo of the Vegetarian Society that produced the card.

The colours used here, the purple and gold, are not generic colours that would be used when in reference to festiveness and the festive season like Christmas. Gold is used quite commonly in reference to Christmas and other holidays, but purple is not. The fact that a colour that is not normally associated with festivities would imply that this dish is something that would not normally be made for the Christmas season, which it is.

The overall appeal of this recipe card is that it is interesting and intriguing. It is something new to make for the holidays rather than the normal turkey and vegetables that everybody makes around Christmas.

I like the idea of hinting that this is not what is expected when ‘festive’ is mentioned; it points out that being a vegetarian is different and should be highlighted and paid attention to. I would like to do this in my own work because I would like the vegetarians that use my recipe cards to feel like there has been a lot of effort put into the food that can be made for them.

There is more text here than there are images. There is also a small image of the large image on the other side of the recipe card. There is not much empty space here which makes the card look fuller and it is not in danger of looking boring.

The same colour scheme has been continued here, using the colours gold and purple to represent the festiveness.

There are words and the small image in baubles which also represent the festivity that is inferred from the title; ‘Festive filo pillow’. There is also a small image of a Holly plant which adds to the festive theme of this recipe card. The vital information, the cooking and prep times, that is needed for any recipe card is shown here in a bauble shape as well. There are also baubles used as bullet points in the method telling us how to make the meal.

The background here is not just plain white like the other cards that I have analysed and looked at. I think that this is another detail that makes this card more interesting and relevant to the ‘festive’ mention. The fact that the card is festive makes it almost different from the others; more special and looks a bit different to the other generic style that the others seem to take.

I like that there is a colour scheme and also another theme that is continued through both sides of this recipe cards. I would like to employ this into my own work by ensuring that there is a clear theme, whether it is just through the use of colours or through an added theme like the festive theme used here.

The layout here is quite evenly spread and there is not much clear space that is not being used. The top third has been taken up by images and shapes and the bottom two half of this side of the card is text; this is a good and well-balanced text to image ratio.

The text here is a small, clear and easy to read font that suits the style well; although the style and design of the card is interesting and in some areas quite complex, the overall design and layout is quite simple and basic which matches the text.

There is a small image of the image that was on the front of the recipe card here, so that the user will not need to flip it over constantly.

There is a slogan and also a web address where people can go to get more ideas for vegetarian meals. These kinds of features make the company look better and more thoughtful towards the user. I will employ this into my own work.

There is an alternative to create another option with this meal which is a handy tip that I will employ in my own work to make the vegetarians meals vegan as well.

The colour green is used significantly here; it is part of the meal on the recipe card and also an organic colour represents vegetables and therefore vegetarian cooking.

The main image photograph is in good focus on the soup, the bowl and the spoon. There is something in the background that is very blurry and out of focus which is obviously not important or significant to the recipe card.

The image is simplistic and the subject of the image is the only thing that is actually in clear focus, implying that this is significant to the publication.

The white text on the green blocks of colour are attention grabbing, although the lettering is all lower case. Lower case lettering usually means that it is not as eye-catching as it could be but the fact that the colours are so contrasting makes you look at and notice the title.

The ‘Vegetarian Society’ logo is placed at the bottom, on one of the green blocks of colour and also coloured in white so that it stand out.

The fact that this side of the card takes up most of the page, implies that there may be a lot of text on the other side. This is a good way to balance the recipe card out between images and text.

Most of this page is made up of a large image. This is to entice the user and grab their attention to want to use this recipe card over others and make this meal. This image is taken in very high quality which brings out the good aspects of the image and makes the smaller parts more appealing to the user and viewer of the card.

Aspects of this card that I would like to employ into my own work would be: the large image covering most or all of the front of the card, the main colours that are vital to the colour scheme being introduced on the front of the card, and also the contrast of colour to catch attention and interest people in the card.

The green blocks of colour here have white text against them again. This brings out the lower case text that would otherwise just be overlooked as it is lower case. This colour scheme is reversed with the main bodies of text, (the ingredients and the method), with green lettering on a white background. This again grabs your attention and is a stark contrast between the two colours.

The font that is being used here is san serif and is clear and easy for the user of the card to read. However, the title of the dish that is being made here is written in calligraphy writing up the right hand side of the side. This gives a slight bit more detail to the card that would other be quite plain, simple and could even be considered as boring.

There is an absence of any intriguing shapes or a theme on this card. There can be recipe cards that are made specifically for festive purposes and times such as Christmas, however this one is just plain. This can be considered positive as the card is simple, basic and straight to the point which is what some people want when they are following a recipe. However, this could be considered a bad thing on a recipe card as people could overlook it as it looks less interesting that some others that may have patterns, more pictures/images or other features.

There are important details in the top block of colour such as preparation time, and cooking times. They are put here so that the user will see them are they are eye-catching.

The main method text is separated up into 4 step-by-step paragraphs so that the text is easier and more manageable tor read for the user. This is a good way to maintain attention from the user and is also something that would attract a reader more to this recipe card than any other; people like to have a manageable amount of text to read plus images, they do not like to read huge chunks of text, especially while doing a practical task such as cooking.

Aspects of this recipe card that I would like to employ into my own work are: the small and easy to read step-by-step paragraphs for the recipe method, the important information such as preparation time and cooking time in easy to see places that grab attention and the use of a smaller image, or a small part of the large image on this side of the card.