Creating a fixed layout eBook (part one: the layout)
To begin creating a fixed layout eBook we first had to import our reflowable eBooks opening them on InDesign. The first step was altering the orientation of the pages making the book landscape using the pages panel. To do so we had to adjust the master pages starting with the first and then following the same process for each page making sure to delete the portrait pages.
We then set about designing the book more carefully including more images etc to make the book more interactive.
I began with my front pages finding an image on Unsplash that I felt matched the book and would be a good title page. I had difficulties with the image and text clashing so I reduced the transparency and put the text in a text box to make it more legible. I also had problems with the image and text however this was resolved by removing all text wraps.
We then had to edit the recipes as the orientation had now changed meaning that we did not want the same layout as before. I decided I wanted two pages for my recipes the first the same as in my Reflowable eBook with the title, image, a description, and brief cooking instructions.
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On the second page, I decided I wanted to change the layout, to have the ingredients on the left-hand side of the page and the method on the right. To do this I first tried to use columns to create the layout using the text frame tool. However, the column tool applied fixed widths which did not work for my recipes as they have a longer method section. Instead, I created textboxes, on the left a textbox was made to house the ingredients list. Using the ruler tool to draw a line enabled me to set the boundaries for the next box. To make the recipes have a better flow I used one text box with both the ingredients and method in, stopping the textbox where the ingredients finished and placing the extra text featuring the method on the right-hand side. This created the column style I wanted but with a larger width for the method section. I then had to apply this to each recipe making sure to copy over the ruler to get the measurements accurate.
Once this was complete I then had to edit the master pages applying a header, page number and background image to each A master page. I chose a green from my book cover and previous eBook for the header and put the book title in it. I chose to do in a shape to provide a visual element to a relatively plain page. Once this was applied as a master page in the first pages it had to be added to every recipes master page individually, to make this process easier I used the ruler tool and paste in place to get every page to look the same.
For the background image, I chose to use a wooden table top I thought this was in keeping with the style of the book and the visual appearance I was aiming for. I again decreased the opacity of the image to make it faded and make the text more visible.
