Cook it up

Here's to a good meal together.

There is one amazing thing about a workforce that lives all over the world: the richness of experiences, customs, and perspectives brought to the dinner table. We’re always looking for new ways to learn more about each other, and nothing brings people together like food. And while everyone on Upwork can’t all sit down to a meal together, we can connect with each other through our favorite recipes.

A classic cookbook gone digital.

The idea for a digital cookbook was born out of our Family Belonging Community as a diversity, inclusion, and belonging effort to help strengthen our company culture. Cook It Up gave a glimpse into our “belonging communities,” celebrating the rich diversity that Upwork thrives on. It included favorite recipes along with the personal memories that connect these dishes to the contributors.

Output

Website, Design, Production, Strategy

We wanted to show the world that we’re one family that shares many different backgrounds, traditions, and origins.

– Heather Sullivan,
Chair of Upwork’s Family Belonging Community

Introducing the world's first seafood cursor.

What was first envisioned as a downloadable publication within Upwork expanded into a colorful and fun, public-facing online cookbook. Tess Smith-Roberts, the London-based illustrator known for her colorful style and fun visuals, partnered with the Upwork team to create an overall look and feel for the digital experience.

The book showcased Upwork’s cultural diversity and spirit of community, not to mention the world’s first prawn cursor.

I’ve always wanted to work on a cookbook, and I was thrilled about drawing food, especially for so many recipes!

– Tess Smith-Roberts,
Featured Artist
Save your fork, there's pie.

Cook It Up was a visual and culinary online treat. It helped show the culture within Upwork to the world. It was a peek into what makes a unique community of creative talent. Most of all, it proved that the people you’d want to share a meal with are often the people you’d want to work with.

Credits

Creative Project Manager:

Susan Hupka

Senior Designers:

Akira Nakamura, Johan Vilchez

Designer:

Laura Welch

Motion Designer:

Zachary Patterson

Copywriter:

Patricia Lambert

Design Director:

Stephanie Munoz

Web Designer:

Jonathan Crowe (Juice)

Creative Directors:

Nick Scarlet, Rebecca Faulkner

Executive Creative Director:

Patrick Holly

VP, Marketing:

Amanda Leach-Rouvi

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