Numero Undici

2023
Publication Design

Numero Undici was a single-edition, independent publication that sits between cookbook, memoir, and archival document. It retraces my life through the lens of my grandparents’ home at 11 Trudewind Road – a place that shaped my understanding of food, family, and the story of Italian migrant life in regional Australia.

Developed in the months following the passing of my Nonna – my final grandparent, the book brings together more than fifty recipes, family photographs, handwritten notes, drawings, and small stories that form a portrait of a home, a kitchen, and a way of living that continues to reverberate.

The publication began as a personal act of remembering and processing grief, and participating in rituals before they faded into memory. Numero Undici is intentionally intimate through its documentary lens, acting as a love letter to the practical beauty and intimacy of everyday cooking.

The design draws on the visual language of family photo albums, 1970s community cookbooks, family recipes jotted on old pieces of paper, chef’s journals, and Enzo Mari’s “Exploration of Drawing”. This approach brought to life a book that feels familiar and lived-in, embracing the improvisational nature of home cooking.

The visual identity of the publication is intentionally intimate. Typography, image and layout all follow the familiarity of family photo albums to guide the pacing of the book, all within a compact physical format that doesn’t occupy much space on a kitchen bench while following a recipe.

Numero Undici was printed locally in Melbourne on uncoated paper, with textured linen stock chosen for the cover to enhance the connection with family albums. Production values were intentionally simple – a gesture towards the frugality and resourcefulness that defined my grandparents’ lives. The publication was finished with Singer binding using pink thread, a subtle nod to my Nonna’s passion for knitting, and a nod to all the handmade objects that lived within my grandparents’ home.