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Behind-the-Scenes: The New Purich Books Logo

Posted: Wednesday, November 01, 2017
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Emma Novotny, Senior Graphic Designer from UBC's Faculty of Arts, with Hunting the Northern Character, the first title in the Purich Books imprint.

Written by Megan Malashewsky, Agency and Digital Marketing Coordinator

On a crisp October afternoon, Liz Hudson (UBC Press’s inventory coordinator) and I had the pleasure of sitting down with Emma Novotny, Senior Graphic Designer from UBC’s Faculty of Arts, to chat about the process behind designing the new Purich Books logo.

With the inaugural title well into production, Emma worked on a tight deadline; her process, therefore, was streamlined and focused. Emma began by sketching on paper, freed from the constraints of digital software. Using clear directions from Darcy Cullen, Associate Director, Acquisitions, Emma drew inspiration from Métis beadwork and weaving, other logos, and the Purich backlist. Rather than presenting a plethora of concepts, she instead chose to focus on two distinct ideas, playing instead with form and colour.

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Emma has worked on book design before, but logo design presents a unique challenge; the final design must be visible and striking on the spine of a book, but also be eye-catching in larger formats and digital environments.

The final result—the new Purich Books logo—is clear and inviting. The dots, inspired by Métis beadwork, can change to match different colour schemes. For the text, Emma chose “Mr. Eaves,” a clean, sans-serif font inspired by an older typeface but reimagined for today (which, fittingly, describes the Purich list and rebranding as a whole).

One of the (many) perks of working for a book publisher is seeing how vague concepts transform over time to create a finished product—whether the text of an important book, the images on a cover, a website, or a new imprint. We all take pride in that finished product, and I can say the same for Emma and the Purich Books logo; her enthusiasm upon seeing her design grace the spine of Hunting the Northern Character was infectious and inspiring.

Thanks, Emma, for the new Purich Books logo!

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Posted by Megan M.
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