1. Recipe Cards: Existing
Products
Richard & Robyn

2. The recipe card layout is quite simple (everything follows a simple style. The front cover starts with a dark green rectangular box & has a the
title for the dish in white writing. You then see a large picture of the food the recipe will be making. Then after the image you see another
dark green box which features the logo in white. The layout for the back of the recipe card is quite similar in the way it features two green
boxes at the top and the bottom & the writing is also white. Instead of having a main image like the front though, it features a white
background with the recipe in green lettering. You can also see an image of the food starting from the middle, right edge of the card into the
middle. Although the layout is effective, you could also say it way quite bland-looking & does not take full advantage of the fact is was made
to be a festive meal. Many of their other recipe cards feature the same layout.
No capital letters in
title - informal
Looking at the colour scheme,
you can see that the primary
colours used are white &
green. I like the fact that
they have used two main
colours as it adds
sophistication & simple
separation between
background & writing. The
colour green also linked to
vegetables & nature, so its an
appropriate choice for a
vegetarian card. This colour
scheme can be found on many
of their other recipe cards,
which gives this set an overall
housestyle.
The writing style has no stand
out or individual style but
that is the same with most
recipe cards. The cards
recipe tells you everything
that you need to do to
produce the food you can see
in the image. The writing uses
standard English & does not
break from the formality of
it. As we are working for this
company, I would be
expected to use this kind of
language.
The font used for the recipe
cards is a non-serif font. The
use of this kind of font adds a
modern edge to the design &
works well with the overall
simple look of the recipe
card. I would also like to
point out the font used on the
text that is portrait to the
rest of the design is different.
To me, this is used to add a
flare of design to the overall
look of the recipe card as it
uses a serif font that includes
flicks that are appealing to
the eye, but is not really
needed.
As stated in the layout paragraph, text
(consisting of titles, ingredients,
methods), two images (one large & one
medium cropped of the first image) & a
logo are all part of the content. You will
also see a telephone number, email
address, charity number & what
percentage of recycled paper has been
used to produce the recipe. All of the
content fits onto two sides of A5. This
content will have to be featured on our
recipe cards.
The images used have clearly
been taken with a high
quality camera & the subject
was made with high quality
products made by a chef. The
composition of the
photograph allows the food to
stand out, as the background
is not in focus. The use
lighting has made the food
look very appetizing, making
the viewer want to make the
food for themselves.
The overall presentation is very clean &
modern. I would expect a middle class
vegetarian to use a recipe card like this.
I would also expect this person to enjoy
cooking, as there are a lot of ingredients
and steps to follow to make the food. I
would like to produce a recipe card like
this, although I would like to switch up
the images by using two different
images instead of using the same one
twice.

3. The colour scheme for the card is very simple. It focuses on a green and white scheme. The green colour featured is a boring and
dull shade but might be used to represent vegetables’, also another reason that is it green as that is the most common colour of
the Vegetarian Society. It is the colour that is seen to be most related to the environment and nature. The scheme is simple and
doesn’t’ have much detail so makes the audience instantly attracted to the dish, which is a good thing. The actual recipe itself is
lime green writing on a white background which may not be that easy to read.
The writing style
for the cards is
informal as the
title doesn’t use
capital letters. The
font used is an
easy to read, non-
serif font in white
which works
remotely well. The
card also features
a bit of typography
which says the
name of the
recipe. Personally,
I think its clear to
see that it has
been used to fill
what would be
negative space.
The layout of the
card is simple and
minimalistic which
is ideal are you cant
get confused and
lost with what's
going on. It follows
a simple, easy style
rather than putting
un-needed detail.
The images
used in on the
recipe cards
have clearly
been taken
professionally
with a high,
quality
camera as
they are very
good. The
focus is used
correctly and
the light
balance is
fantastic and
really
highlights the
way the food
looks like and
makes it look
attractive,
making more
people want
to make the
food.
The house style is consistent on both sides as it features the same form of borders. The colours are the same
shade all round and the logo is there as well, it is prominent and attractive.
The audience for the recipe cards are middle class women, in their late twenties, early thirties who are
interested in cooking foods of a complex nature. You can tell this because of the way it is set out. The
plate the food is on looks classy and expensive, meaning it wouldn’t be for student, as if it were, the
way the photograph is took would be different as well as the layout of the card and the food itself.

4. This recipe card is a card alongside a magazine
which features ‘fun cooking for families’.
Looking at the colour scheme of the recipe card
you can see how they wanted to link the colours
of the vegetables to the colour of the text.
Using the colour green connotes freshness and
nature, links with the ideas of vegetarianism
The layout of this recipe card is quite simple. It fits into a 2 by 3 grid. I know this because
there are roughly 3 equal parts on the cover. The first third is the title, second the
photograph of the food & the last third is the sponsors. This is similar on the back of the
recipe card. The first third features the title and the introduction to the recipe. The second
third is split into two sections. The first features the kitchen gear you will need and the
ingredients. The second features the instructions. The last third features a blue box with
writing in, telling you to subscribe to the magazine
The font is very
childlike, which
links with who the
recipe is targeted at
(children). The title
is in that font,
whereas the writing
we assume that will
be for the adults is
in a normal non-
serif font.
As for the content,
you can see that the
writing is meant for
the parents, whilst
the fonts & pictures
a meant to entice
the child to try
something with
vegetables in it.
This is important
when producing
material for
children.
The one image
used is just of the
product the
recipe should
make. It is meant
to make
vegetables look
enticing to eat to
a child. If a kid
found this or saw
this, they may
give it to their
parent to make if
they think it looks
interesting to
them.
The overall presentation allows kids & adults alike
to be drawn into what the recipe card is about.
The producers of this recipe card clearly knew who
their audience would be when producing the recipe
card
The recipe is going to be read by the adults,
therefore the writing style will be catered for them.
Whereas the title language ‘crazy bobs’ ‘chop chop’
caters to the young audience.

5. The colours chosen are simple, yet effective. It focuses on shades of white and purple, which works well. The reason for this
chosen colour scheme could be due to the fact that it is a Christmas/Winter themed recipe and because white is a chilly colour
and could symbolize ice and snow. The white could be also used because it is a plain and simple colour which automatically turns
all the attention towards the food and make it seem more attractive. There is also use of a gold colour which could be trying to
represent the colour of baubles hanging on a tree, to give it again, a Christmassy feel.
The images have been taken by a professional as they look really good and make the
food look really attractive and tasty. The colours look really balanced and suit well
with the plain colour scheme. Although, the theme of the card is meant to be
Wintery, the colours aren’t cold so the warmth of the colours could be there to
portray adding add heat to a cold season. The angle the photograph has been taken
really gives the food a casual but classy look.
I would say the
audience of this
product are
middle aged,
middle class
women as the
image gives off a
really
sophisticated feel
by the angle the
photograph took.
The recipe is also
seen to be quite
complex and
possibly feature
expensive
ingredients which
people such as
students or low-
class people
wouldn’t
necessarily be
able to afford
often or at all.
The style of
writing used is
non-serif writing
so is easy to
read. The title
of the recipe
really stands out
and the darker,
non focused
colours in the
background
really
compliment the
white writing.
The purple and
white on
gold/bronze on
the recipe side
really works well
as again, they
compliment
each other. The
purple writing on
the white
background is to
easy read and
looks pleasing on
the eye.

6. The colour scheme for this recipe card is a red on white theme. The borders on the surrounding of the card are red which works
really well with the main photograph of the food as it features a lot of different shades of red. The side on which the recipe
instructions are on has a white background with light ready writing. This looks nice as it doesn’t include much detail so looks
very minimalistic. Although, it doesn’t state whether the recipe is winter themed, the colours suggest it is. The deep red is a
warm colour which could imply warmth and fire around Christmas time.
I think the
audience for
this recipe
recipe is middle
aged, middle
class, stay at
home parents
who enjoy
experimenting
and dealing with
complex dishes.
The ingredients
could be quite
expensive if you
specially have
to go out and
purchase them
which is why it
would not be
aimed at
students or
young families.
The colour of the
images contrast
and compliment
each other really
well and the
angle the
photograph has
been taken is
good. The way
the imaged has
focused on the
main dish rather
than everything
gives a quality
and professional
finish. The
opposing
photograph
shows the
detailing in the
dish which again,
has a nice finish
to it.
The writing used is non-serif, simple writing. The title of the page and the word ‘ingredients’ are both informal
as they do not feature capital letters where as the rest of the text do. The sub-heading above the ingredients
are in a light, italic font which help people separate the ingredients for the relish and the ingredients for the
main purses.
The layout of
the card is
simple and
doesn’t feature
much detail
which gives it a
laid back,
casual
appearance.
The overall appearance of the card is very simple but still includes to society’s logo twice as well as the contact
details. On the first impression, the card looks easy and the ingredients are remotely simple to follow. The
recipe only takes 50 minutes to complete which means for people who are rushing or have larger families, it is
easy to do.

7. These are two different covers for a
vegetarianism book. One is for Teens & the
other is for the parents of the teens. There are
subtle differences between the two different
covers & the contents that features inside the
book. This is due to the fact that they are
targeted at different people.
One of the first
differences you can
see is that the teen
guide features an
image of a teen
with an orange
(vegetarians would
eat this as it is not
an animal). On the
parent cover, you
can see a plate of
spaghetti
Bolognese.
The colour scheme is generally green on
both covers, which links to nature and
vegetables (suitable for a vegetarian).
Although the use of red on the ‘veggie guide’
on the teen guide is a contrast between the
green.
Just like the recipe
card above, the food
on the parents cover
is in focus, whereas
the background is
out of focus.
The writing in both of
them is different as
they are targeted at
different people. In
the teen guide, the
writing is more
relaxed and less
formal. Compared to
the parent guide
where the writing is a
lot more formal which
is suited to the
audience.
The layout for both covers is very similar. The title, image & logo are
all in the same place. The only difference to layout is the boxes that
both of the covers feature (the teen guide features this at the left
bottom, whereas the parent guide features this at the left top). This
layout allows the image and the title to both be separate, but the use
of slightly opaque boxes allows the image to be seen slightly.
The font used is the same on both covers. The use of capital letters for the words
‘veggie guide’ ‘veggie nutrition mini-poster inside!’ (teen cover) & ‘includes quick
meal ideas’ allows that text to be drawn to your eyes first. The font used also has a
slight scribble effect, which adds to the natural connotations of the colors used &
what vegetarianism is about. Also, the font used isn’t a strict font, which gives the
impression of it being informal (this is also strengthened by the fact it doesn’t follow
strict English rules by being in all capitals. ‘for teens’ & ‘for parents’ are in all lower
case, contrast between the all capitals of all the other text.
Due to the different
audience, there are
slight changes that are
featured in the guides.
One of these examples
would be the purpose
of the guide. The guide
for teens features
interesting facts &
things that try to make
vegetarianism look
cool, which will
persuade them to
become vegetarian.
Whereas the parent
guide will try and tell
the parents that it is
easy for their family to
change their diet to a
vegetarian one.

8. Evaluation
• Overall I have found that the layouts of recipe cards similar overall, as they are all quite simple. This should be
taken on board when producing our own recipe cards. We also looked at two recipe cards from the company we are
going to be working for & found that they all have a very simple house style, we have to follow a similar style to
their house style (this is also stated in the brief).
• Colours used, whatever (we found) the audience to be, have always included different shades of green which is
understandable as the colour connotes what being a vegetarian is all about. Other colours used include the colours
featured on the food e.g. in the third recipe card I looked at, the colours for the title writing feature those of the
food. The recipe cards that were produced by the company we are working for use green shades mostly, which would
be ideal to follow when producing our recipe cards for them.
• Fonts used generally follows a non-serif style when looking at the main body of text. This was also followed by the
first recipe cards title. There were some differences when it came to titles though. Using fonts that replicate hand
drawn features adds to the natural feel of being a vegetarian and adds to the colours used. In the third recipe card,
you can see that a child -like font has been used for the titles to draw in a child's attention.
• Content includes mainly images, titles, instructions, methods & ingredients. You can also find text on some of the
recipe cards that are promoting websites & other resources linked to the recipe cards e.g. sponsors. We will have to
follow the ones found on the first recipe card as that is the company we are working for. We will also have to follow
the typical codes and conventions we have found featured.
• Images are definitely very stylised as we know that it is difficult to photograph food well. If we were to take our own
photographs, we would have to follow a similar style to the first recipe cards photograph. We would either take the
photographs or find stock images of the recipes.
• The overall presentation, like mentioned in the layout paragraph, is pretty simple. This allows the recipe card to be
classy & easy to follow. This can be seen on most of the recipe cards we looked at.
• The writing style is very simple as you do not want to confuse the reader of the recipe. You want them to understand
what they are doing. But you want to do this without dumbing down what you are saying. It also depends on who the
audience is, whether or not you use lesser known words for some of the techniques mentioned in the recipes.
• The audience whether its an older or younger, will feature a method. If the method is for a younger audience, the
adult will usually be using it anyway. The language rarely changes. What is featured in the recipe does change
depending on the audience though. You wouldn't see an adult needing a recipe for fruit kebabs.
• I find that this research has allowed us to know what we need to include in our recipe cards & the things we could
possibly play around with.