Branding | The Isle Bookstore

嶼伴書間

The Background

The Isle Bookstore is an independent bookstore that newly opened its door in the country of I-Lan, Taiwan in 2021. Operating by a family of 3, mum, dad and their 7-year-old girl, they expected the space to become a connection of sharing the topics they care about, such as children’s rights, local culture&history and cinematography(which is dad’s profession), through the authentic selection of books.

8 months ahead of their opening, the family approached me to create the logo, business card and various ideas of merchandises and marketing collaterals.

The Brief

They had developed a specific scenario of the logo before our first meeting: A girl chasing a flying book on an island.

With the background of cinematography and film lover, my clients wanted the logo to be more crafty, realistic and storytelling rather than combining clear shapes and symbols. Besides description, they also provided me with their hand drawings that showed how they developed the scenario and concepts. We had a deep conversation about their experience, the reasons that lead them to relocate and start a bookstore, and what they have learnt and changed during the COVID pandemic.

The meanings of the 4-character name in Mandarin: 嶼 伴 書 間 - Island, Companion, Bookstore, Space.

The Solution

By clear communication and well understanding of my clients and the local community, I developed a custom typeface and a scenario of a girl(person) chasing(action) a flying book(object) on the island(place). To ensure every detail was satisfied, I provided 3 different options of typefaces and images on the sketch stage, and 2-3 similar options to decide the gestures of the girl, the shape of the island and the position of the book after we had a clearer design direction.

To balance the proportions of the elements, the girl stepped out of the island instead of “on” the island, which also added a sense of dimension and the feeling of freedom. The elements of the logo can work together with various combinations as well as be used separately to fit different designs.

The Happy Outcome

The logo was loved by the family(their daughter said she loved the gesture of the girl and the colour of the island) and immediately rolled out to social media, business card, signage and packages. On this project I also assisted with the finished arts, communicating with the printers, and advices on the store’s interior design.