Madison Shackleton

My project explored the variety of different uses with a lemon, it looked at the different culinary uses to how to grow a lemon tree. The project had a very clear guideline and restriction to the publication, with it only including information on a lemon. Having this specific restriction allowed me to really dive into everything on a lemon. It didn’t restrict the publication, however it gave me boundaries and allowed me to focus all my attention to the one fruit.

When creating lemon, I collated all the recipes I wanted to include in the Eat and Drink section, along with information for the Grow and Health section, followed by deciding what recipes I wanted photograph to include in the publication. All of the content, in particular the recipe section I cooked, styled and photographed myself. Which was quite a challenge, as I hadn’t really done a lot of photography before and in particular food photography. So, I did a couple of trial shoots, which gave me great insight into what went well and what I needed to work on, for example the lighting was a big issue I had. But it was a great turning point because I knew what I needed to work on. I am really glad that I decided to push myself with the photography of the publication because it is something that I really want to work on in the future, in particular food photography. It was a very big challenge at the time, however a great skill which I hope to pursue and develop further in the future.

When I was designing the layout of the publication, and in particular the recipe section, I stuck to the traditional layout of cookbooks. I wanted it to be very clear and easy for the audience to read and understand. When it comes to my design, I don't tend to have a very abstract design, I gravitate towards a very traditional style, in particular in layouts. I like a very structured grid.

Lemon has the potential to be extended and continued into the future. For example, it could become part of a series of publications which each highlight a different citrus. These could include; lime, orange, grapefruit, mandarin and tangerines. Each one would have their own colour scheme based on the fruit; for example  lime would be green and orange would be orange. They could become part of a boxed set, the group of books being encased in a box, which highlights each citrus fruit.

Another extension that this project could go to and that I briefly researched and trialled was around marketing for the publication, this includes an apron or/and a tote bag. I trialled sewing an apron, with an embroidered lemon on the pocket, with the idea of wrapping the publication in the apron. The apron would have multi purpose uses, with it being used for either cooking or gardening. Another trial I made was a tote bag, which is where the book could be sold in the bag, where the consumer could then use it for potentially a market bag when purchasing lemons.