Crumbs—A book about cake across culture, history, and celebration
Timeline
3 months
Role
Publication Design, Production
For
Anyone that has eaten cake
MORE THAN DESSERT
A culmination of a summer spent cake decorating. Drawing from cookbook designs, my photos from work, and contributions by cake experts, this quirky anthology on cake explores all the ways sweetness touches humanity.
MORE THAN DESSERT
Immortalizing edible artifacts carrying history, culture, and meaning in every layer.
Across centuries, cakes have symbolized opulence and status, marking class divides with their ingredients and elaborate designs. They’ve become metaphors for life’s milestones, from the exuberance of youth to the quiet contemplation of aging—and even our reckoning with mortality.
At their simplest, cakes remain symbols of joy, moments of sweetness that brighten a day. But in their complexity, they hold the power to communicate themes as profound as memory, identity, and love.
Like crumbs coming together to form a complete slice, the stories, histories, and emotions tied to cake reveal something essential about who we are.
Crumbs invites you to savor these fragments and perhaps take a bite of something unexpectedly profound.
Across centuries, cakes have symbolized opulence
and status, marking class divides with their ingredients and elaborate designs. They’ve become metaphors for life’s milestones, from the exuberance of youth to the
quiet contemplation of aging—and even our reckoning with mortality.
At their simplest, cakes remain symbols of joy, moments of sweetness that brighten a day. But in their complexity, they hold the power to communicate themes as profound as memory, identity, and love.
Like crumbs coming together to form a complete slice, the stories, histories, and emotions tied to cake reveal something essential about who we are.
Crumbs invites you to savor these fragments and perhaps take a bite of something unexpectedly profound.
Hand-printed on square, cream-colored paper, spiral-bound in a hard fabric cover, organized by tabs, and using a typographic system similar to Betty Crocker's books, the details of Crumbs reference old recipe books—charming, informative, and accessible.
Each chapter has a dedicated tab, and delves into a different aspect of cake. These tabs feature cakes I've made during my time working as a cake decorator—weaving in my personal experience with the thoughts and artworks of others—and introductory inserts on each topic.
Blue, red, and yellow reference the food colorings prominent in the icings I worked with, and the book's gold accents reference the gold cake boards that cakes are often displayed on.
Across centuries, cakes have symbolized opulence
and status, marking class divides with their ingredients and elaborate designs. They’ve become metaphors for life’s milestones, from the exuberance of youth to the
quiet contemplation of aging—and even our reckoning with mortality.
At their simplest, cakes remain symbols of joy, moments of sweetness that brighten a day. But in their complexity, they hold the power to communicate themes as profound as memory, identity, and love.
Like crumbs coming together to form a complete slice, the stories, histories, and emotions tied to cake reveal something essential about who we are.
Crumbs invites you to savor these fragments and perhaps take a bite of something unexpectedly profound.
A hand-piped icing cover that references Betty Crocker's Picture Cook Book, scanned and screenprinted by hand in gold.
Across centuries, cakes have symbolized opulence
and status, marking class divides with their ingredients and elaborate designs. They’ve become metaphors for life’s milestones, from the exuberance of youth to the
quiet contemplation of aging—and even our reckoning with mortality.
At their simplest, cakes remain symbols of joy, moments of sweetness that brighten a day. But in their complexity, they hold the power to communicate themes as profound as memory, identity, and love.
Like crumbs coming together to form a complete slice, the stories, histories, and emotions tied to cake reveal something essential about who we are.
Crumbs invites you to savor these fragments and perhaps take a bite of something unexpectedly profound.
A hand-piped icing cover that references Betty Crocker's Picture Cook Book, scanned and screenprinted by hand in gold.
A hand-piped icing cover that references Betty Crocker's Picture Cook Book, scanned and screenprinted by hand in gold.