Slatki nered · Ines Babić

The printed hardcover book Slatki nered lying on a white table, with chocolate lettering, strawberries, a chocolate bar and an oven mitt on a cream and yellow cover

The brief

Slatki nered (“Sweet Mess”) is the final project of the undergraduate programme at the Academy of Applied Arts in Rijeka, mentored by Marko Koržinek. The task was a complete children’s book: a cookbook that gets kids into the kitchen and makes the mess part of the fun, taken from concept to a printed, self-published hardcover.

The approach

Seven desserts (kremšnite, tiramisu, cheesecake, ice cream, Kinder Pingui, muffins and pancakes) are introduced by two dog characters, Pepa and Tonka, who sneak into the kitchen and comment on every step. Each spread is a single illustrated scene on a yellow gingham tablecloth, and the recipe itself is hidden in the paper mechanics: pop-up cakes, lift-the-scoop flaps, fold-out recipe booklets, a pancake that flips in the pan and a real paper muffin cup. All illustration, layout and paper engineering were done by Ines.

The outcome

The book was printed and bound as a hardcover with patterned endpapers and a full dust jacket, and documented in photographs, mockups and a flip-through video. It shows the whole chain of a book project in one piece: character design, illustration, typography, paper engineering and print production.

3D mockup of the book standing on a stack of three copies, showing the front cover, the spine reading Ines Babić Slatki nered, and the back cover blurb — Front, spine and back of the hardcover.

Open title and contents spread: credits on the left, a pop-up kitchen box full of paper utensils in the middle, and the list of seven desserts on the right — Title and contents spread with a pop-up kitchen box.

Cheesecake spread in pink and yellow with a pop-up round cheesecake, a fold-out recipe booklet labelled Preljev and two dogs in a paper boat — Cheesecake: pop-up cake and a layered recipe booklet.

Muffini spread with a pop-up cluster of six muffins, a notebook recipe, a muffin tin and a real paper muffin cup held by the two dogs — Muffins: a pop-up cluster and a real paper cup.

Sladoled spread with an ice-cream tray whose scoop lifts to reveal the recipe, and a pop-up sundae cone dripping chocolate — Ice cream: lift the scoop to read the recipe.

Tiramisu spread on yellow gingham with a Recept notepad flap, ladyfingers, a sieve, a cup of coffee and a red baking dish with a dog holding a yellow umbrella — Tiramisu.

Palačinke spread with a frying pan whose pancake can be flipped, a black notebook recipe flap, a jam jar and a stack of pancakes — Pancakes: the pancake in the pan flips over.

Kremšnite spread with a pop-up slice of cream cake on a plate, a cutting board, a purple bowl with a dog character and a rolling pin — Kremšnite.

Flipping through the finished book (first 45 seconds).