Cook Memorial Library Debuts New Logo, Brand Identity
By Paul Hall on Tuesday, May 11th, 2021 in More Top Stories Northeastern Oregon News
LA GRANDE, 0R – (Information provided by Cook Memorial Library) Cook Memorial Library is revamping its brand identity with, most notably, a new logo. This update is designed to position the library as modern, fun, and welcoming and capitalizes on our unique sense of place.
While the look is changing, the library’s mission and core values remain the same. “Whether it’s books to read, childhood literacy, or WiFi access to search the internet for homework assignments or job searches, the library provides these resources and more,” stated Library Director Kip Roberson.
“The library is a place where lives are shaped and enriched,” said Roberson. This core mission is represented in 3 taglines based on design elements found in the new logo. “One of the taglines that may start showing up in marketing materials is ‘Growing Readers Since 1912’ (the year library service began in La Grande); other taglines include ‘Knowledge Grows Here’ and ‘Information Flows Here,’ all of which certainly sums up the library’s warm, welcoming environment that fosters growth and discovery,” Roberson continued.
The branding refresh includes a new logo, re-designed marketing materials and signage, an updated website, and even a new library card featuring the new logo. “The new brand identity has been slowly rolling out over the past few months and should, by now, be quite recognizable to our most regular patrons,” said Roberson.
The Library engaged the design services of Pacific Northwest-based graphic designer Francine Brazeau. The development of the new logo and brand identity was a thoughtful process that involved the designer, the library director, and library staff.
From the outset of the design process, there was a desire to connect the Library to our unique and beautiful natural surroundings. Early design elements included Mt. Emily, an Oregon Trail wagon wheel, and architectural elements of the library building such as the story time circle.
Throughout the process, the design returned again and again to the region’s natural elements – the Grande Ronde River, the golden fields of wheat (in the final design, the grain flowers are drawn as open books swaying in the wind), and the ponderosa pine which covers our valley’s mountainsides. Book shapes were introduced to “carry” each individual element and to represent the library. The logo’s bold colors represent the river (blue), the pines (green), and the fields (yellow). Finally, the sans serif font Sweet Sans Pro was chosen for its modern look using all caps with the emphasis on LIBRARY.
