Illustrator Jennifer Hines' pop-up book is an ode to sandwiches and cross-cultural exploration

We love a good passion project at Creative Boom, and here's a great one that recently passed our desk. Fair warning, though: you might be feeling peckish once you've finished reading this article.

An American illustrator living in London, Jennifer Hines' latest side project is a pop-up book that transforms the humble sandwich from a mundane lunchtime staple to a celebrated cultural artefact.

Her meticulously crafted book, Sandwiches: The Inside Story, represents the culmination of years of research, artistic development, and cross-cultural exploration. This elaborate handmade prototype features 18 illustrated pages exploring the definition, construction, and cultural significance of sandwiches worldwide.

Each spread incorporates sophisticated paper engineering—accordion folds, pull-tabs, nested booklets, removable newspaper inserts, and three-dimensional pop-up elements—transforming a simple illustrated guide into an immersive, tactile experience.

Expat inspiration

Jessica's fascination with sandwiches developed through her expatriate experience, having lived in Chicago, Amsterdam, and now London. During her travels, she began documenting local sandwich varieties, seeing them as accessible entry points into regional culinary traditions.

"I love how localised many sandwiches are to the city, people, and cultures," Jennifer explains. This documentation evolved from casual interest to scholarly pursuit as she identified sandwiches as universal yet highly localised food constructions.

The conceptual underpinning extends beyond mere documentation. Jessica's book views the sandwich metaphorically—its layered construction serves as a visual metaphor for human experience, with each ingredient representing different aspects of daily life combined into a cohesive whole. As she puts it: "They also are a symbol of us and our lives, stacking disparate parts together to make a whole."

That's the concept, but the technical execution was something else entirely, requiring Jessica to master various paper engineering techniques while maintaining her illustration style.

Beginning with extensive mock-ups developed during creative residencies at The Grange in Great Cressingham, Norfolk, she methodically tested mechanical elements before finalising designs with traditional media—pencil, ink, and watercolour—supplemented by digital elements. "I chose to do the illustrations by hand because it was easier to plan out the cuts, flaps and parts without having to deal with printing specifics," she notes.

The finished prototype includes dictionary definition flaps that open like mini-books, accordion folds revealing expanded sandwich illustrations, a pull-up vellum cube illustrating 'The Cube Rule' of food classification, and mix-and-match pages allowing readers to create their own sandwich combinations. Pocket newspapers feature famous sandwiches with stories and recipes, while pop-up elements showcase record-breaking sandwiches.

Proof of concept

Completed earlier this year, the handmade prototype serves as both a standalone art piece and a proof of concept for publishers. Jennifer hopes to transform her one-of-a-kind creation into a published book that can be widely shared with sandwich enthusiasts.

As vibrant as it is interactive, the book represents the perfect intersection of Jennifer's diverse talents: her eye for illustration, storytelling ability, love of typography, and appreciation for how food connects cultures. While this project spotlights her sandwich speciality, Jennifer's broader portfolio showcases her versatility as an illustrator and lettering artist for clients including the LA Times, Quarto Publishing and numerous food brands.

For sandwich lovers and paper engineering enthusiasts alike, Jennifer Hines' creation proves that sometimes, the most ordinary of subjects can inspire extraordinary art.