The making of The Professional Barista’s Handbook. An Expert’s Guide to Preparing Espresso and Coffee by Scott Rao

Waiting for the translation, browsing through the original edition with a cup of coffee.

The translation finally comes in, making the first attempt at the design.

The text includes considerable footnotes. Thinking about their placement.

Together with consultants going through all terms and numbers. Drinking coffee, trying to reinvent existing tables.

Realizing we need to have better understanding of the subject. Going to Tver to show our respect to unroasted coffee beans.

Coming back home to continue the work. We need to infuse the book with coffee spirit. How about chalk boards?

Just what we need. Asking the illustrator for help.

Now it’s time for internal pictures. The original photographs beg to be replaced by better ones. Having a cup of coffee and estimating which ones need to be reshot.

Coming to understanding that 99% of the material needs to be replaced. Holding a photo shoot while drinking lots of coffee.

Technical designers start the retouching.

Drawing the endpaper. The illustrator suggests to draw a pattern with ground coffee.

Drawing it in vector, printing on thick paper and using it as a stencil to pour coffee.

It doesn’t come out pretty.

Changing the scale of the stencil, but it makes the scale of coffee grains change as well. Trying to use oracal to give the drawing more definition, but now it lacks density.

Abandoning the handmade design and taking photographs of ground coffee which we will use to create a texture for the pattern. Trying to use different shades.

The art director likes the result but asks to remove aniseed, which makes it look like a book about spiced coffee.

The art director asks to keep only coffee beans in the pattern. Getting rid of everything else and giving the result to the typesetter.

Starting to work on the dust jacket. Continuing the chalk board theme.

Making color proofs. Ensuring the skin tone on hands remains the same on all pictures.

Making corrections and sending the result to the print shop. Finally, we can have some coffee.