Wonderbly’s branding captures the joy of books
The publisher’s brand refresh draws inspiration from the “powerfully emotional experience” of giving someone a personalised book
Branding studio Lovework has designed a new identity for online publisher Wonderbly, helping the brand to reach a new demographic of older readers. Known for its personalised books for kids, the publisher is now branching out of this category and looking to evolve its offering.
Wonderbly’s visual refresh builds on the foundations of its previous identity but achieves a look and feel that is slicker and simpler than before. Most notably, this has come in the form of a reimagined logo, which now condenses the original wordmark and symbol into a single design.
“On the technical side, the original logo with separate wordmark and symbol was tricky to read on their wonderfully illustrated covers,” explains Campbell Butler, creative director at Lovework. “[So] we simplified the crown and placed ‘Wonderbly’ inside it. The bolder mark is more visible and attractive on book covers, signage and packaging.”
The Lovework team also created a series of paper-cut shapes to function as linking layout devices, and then animated these shapes to bring life to their 2D forms. These serve to surprise visitors on the Wonderbly website, hinting at the creative process of personalising a book.
Alongside the visual considerations, a new tone of voice was also developed to represent the brand’s ethos. Warm and whimsical, the Wonderbly language now strikes a strong balance between child-friendly playfulness and a more mature tone.
This text is rendered within the branding using a similarly playful choice of typefaces. Atak and RZA by Zurich-based foundry Out of the Dark help to bring further personality to the identity, with RZA having been selected for its “blobby inkiness”, and Atak to ensure that “every ‘i’ has a tittle”.
Speaking on the new tone of voice, Butler says: “Like the books themselves, we put the reader in the plot-line by using a wide range of names in advertising to inspire everyone to imagine themselves as the protagonist in their own story.
“The joy of a story is its unpredictable nature, so we manifest this in our writing with random thoughts, facts and playful ideas that surprise and delight the reader.”
