Gain ideas for your pasta cookbook design by using a theme. Use repetition of simple color combination throughout the book, bold text headings and easily readable text.
Choose colors that are opposite on the color wheel when designing your own cookbook.
Use a computer software program to layout the pasta cookbook pages with book making software or hire a graphic designer to do this for you.
Create categories for your pasta cookbook. Design tabbed index pages to separate the categories.
Separate different types of pasta recipes by culture, preparation, ingredients, meat pastas or vegetarian dishes.
Include information, such as pasta types, pasta history and pastas of certain geographic areas.
Take your own images with your digital camera or buy clip art from a clip art retailer.
Use a tripod when taking your own digital images. Placing the camera on any firm surface, such as a table or on a stack of heavy text books, will keep your camera level and still while shooting.
Set up an area in your home with sufficient lighting. Use natural light by placing your pasta dish near a window. Refer to your camera's instruction manual for more detailed information about manual camera settings.
Place the items you wish to photograph on a cloth that drapes behind, under and to the sides of the picture items or create a natural setting. Add other items, such as a pepper grinder or candles to enhance the pasta dish in the image.
Don't shoot photographs of the plates of pasta at an angle. Shoot photos of your pasta dishes from above or straight on. Include images of the preparation of the pasta and ingredients. Photograph pasta dishes when the food is fresh.
Check copyrights of all recipes and images you want to include if you plan to sell your pasta cookbook. Do not save images you find on the Internet, unless you purchase the images from a clip art retailer or they are available via a creative commons license for free.
Check with your local print shop or seek self-publishers on the Internet for printing requirements and per page pricing. Choose from spiral bound or hardback cookbook.
Determine whether design fees apply or if a deposit or minimum number of books or pages are required for printing. Consider extras, such as a waterproof cover.
Lay out your design to the specifications of the commercial printer, paying attention to file extension types, file formats and other important details.
Save all required files on a compact disc and your hard drive.