Carteret Public Library Logo

Case Study

As part of an ongoing rebranding project, the Carteret Public Library, located in Carteret, New Jersey, wanted an update to their library logo which hadn't been changed for nearly 22 years. In an effort to become more modernized and increase public outreach with their various educational resources and programs for adults and children, a new logo was designed to symbolize a new direction the library wanted to take in a post-Pandemic world.

The goal for the library logo rebranding was to create an opportunity for the library to attract new people, increase membership applications, and also to keep up with the fast-growing population of Carteret. The library over the course of the Pandemic recognized the need for computers and resources by the public when students and adults couldn't have access to them when schools were closed and jobs were lost.

The new library logo included a brighter hue of blue, bold and sans serif text, and the symbol of a book and sun together signifying a beacon of knowledge, a library where people go to build themselves up - life or career wise- using the free resources provided to them.

The old logo of the library consisted of many points of information from its thin serif text, to the contact information below it, to the complex graphic above the library name which could only be visible and understood at large scales.

I spent some time researching logos from many libraries, seeing what sort of logos they had and what did and didn't work for them. Many emphasized acronyms or icons for their logos where if viewed without context a person outside of the community wouldn't understand what the logo meant. I wanted to be sure that the library retained its name, but emphasize a new symbol rather than a graphic like its predecessor.

The intent of the new logo was to simplify it to the point where it was legible, simple, modern, and had conveyed better meaning of what the library represented.

As I continued in my research, I came across the New York Public library and their logo. I appreciated the simplicity of their logo which was line art of a lion. The Carteret Public Library did not have an animal mascot, however, the brand of the town was the title "Center of it All" which inspired a decision to make something that would represent place of importance for the library. I chose the sun and book symbol above the other logos I envisioned because at first glance it was a shape that caught the attention of my eye but also was far more interesting than others. It was in fact a design decision that came from shifting the original 2D books into a new perspective with depth, granting the new logo deeper meaning than a brush stroke over the heads of people between bookshelves.

This is a 3D mock of what the new building signage for the library would look like, with emphasis on the new logo symbol.

Above contains the various font styles of the same font Neue Haas Grotesk used alongside the library rebranding campaign. The last style, 95 Black, is the style used for the new logo. The others were suggested for official use for fine print, headers on official documents, and more.

Today, the new library logo is still in use and has replaced the old logo on many local sites like the New Jersey State Library, and other websites that are linked to the library database. The new logo was widely accepted and enjoyed recognition from the Mayor of Carteret, Dan Reiman.

Here the shapes and illustrations were becoming more refined until I settled on a design that showcased an open book shining through its center.

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