FRANKLIN PUBLIC LIBRARY

Much of my most recent paid design work is under NDA, and I cannot share it here. To flex my creative muscles and show some more up-to-date demonstrations of my skills, I have made creatives for several hypothetical brands or organizations. This is one of them: the Franklin Public Library! In this exercise, I created branding, video ads, and display ads in a number of common sizes (300x250, 300x600, 628x628, and 1200x628 - not all sizes are shown here, but they can be made available upon request). I also wrote all copy used in these creatives.

An image showing two people in a library, looking at a book together. Text beside them reads Ask for help at FPL. Use your library card to book free sessions with one of our tutors in a wide range of subjects. An image showing someone in a library archive, holding a book. Text beside them reads Dig into the archives at FPL. Connect to local history by exploring our collection of historical documents and newspapers. An image showing two people in a library, looking at a laptop and textbook together and smiling. Text beside them reads Learn together at FPL. Our Study Buddy Matching Program works with Franklin County schools to connect students looking for classmates to study with.

The process:

Design is all about communication, and I center clear communication in mind with every creative choice. Libraries are an incredible community resource, and I wanted the messaging of these creatives to focus on what FPL can offer to its community, while showcasing a bright, welcoming environment. Because public libraries are incredible resources for all ages, the imagery needed to be be bright and colorful to engage children, but not so whimsical as to feel immature to adults.

An image showing someone in a library sitting in front of their computer, motioning as if speaking in a virtual meeting. Above and below them is text reading Nail that big presentation at FPL. Use your library card to reserve one of our conference rooms for in-person or online meetings. An image showing someone holding a stack of books up to their chin. Above and below them is text reading Stock up on good reads at FPL. There's no limit to the number of books you can check out at one time. An image showing someone reading a book on Python. Above and below them is text reading Learn new things at FPL. Check out our collection of educational books covering a wide range of topics.

Making the logo:

To develop FPL's branding, I looked at the websites and social media accounts for a number of libraries in major cities, as well as libraries from smaller towns. The New York Public Library system's logo is a lion, a visual reference to the marble Library Lions in front of the Beaux-Arts building. The Los Angeles Public Library's logo is a simple book silhouette in a circle. The Sacramento Public Library system's logo is green and black text, its circled "i" calling to mind information desks - or even the "@" sign, conjuring associations to digital library resources, which are increasingly a part of many libraries' offerings. Nearby Yolo County Library uses a more colorful and complicated logo than these others - a medallion of oranges, yellows, and greens. For an area known for its agriculture, this harvest-colored logo feels appropriate. My hometown library, situated in wine country, has recently updated its logo to show grape leaves emerging from the pages of a book. General research of other library logos online shows two common themes: simple, somewhat-abstracted, colorful book motifs (see Wisconsin's Digital Library and the Round Rock Public Library) and imagery that combines books and nature (see Fresno County Public Library and the Chautauqua-Cattaraugus Library System). Trees and leaves coming out of or formed by books are especially common.

A logo showing half of an open book with three colorful pages. Beside the pages is text reading Frankling Public Library. A logo showing half of an open book with three black pages. Beside the pages is text reading Frankling Public Library. A logo showing half of an open book with three pages. Beside the pages is text reading Frankling Public Library. This logo is overlaid over a photo of someone pulling a book from a library shelf - the logo itself is a window through to the photo, and everything outside of it is white and hides the photo beneath.

If I were creating a logo for a real library set in a real town, I would look first to aspects of the town's history or identity for logo inspiration. As that was not the case here, I instead again considered the goals of these designs: draw attention to the library's resources, make it seem appealing to go to, and bear in mind how influential and valuable libraries can be to young readers without alienating older community members. These considerations informed my design choices: I created logos featuring somewhat abstract but still clear book imagery so that a viewer would immediately know what sort of organization they were seeing ads for, focusing on simple and modern shapes to allow for lots of white space in the ads in order to create a clean, clear, and bright visual, and using colors that would be fun and inviting to children, without being so childish that adult library-goers might be put-off or feel unwelcome.

An image showing two people in a library, looking at a laptop and textbook together and smiling. Text beside them reads Learn together at FPL. Our Study Buddy Matching Program works with Franklin County schools to connect students looking for classmates to study with.

Selecting the stock photos:

While ads for a real library would, of course, make use of photos of the actual space, for this project I was limited to using stock photos. Being further restricted to royalty-free stock photos, my choices were a bit more slim than they might otherwise have been. I prioritized images that looked realistic while still feeling professional, photos that felt like they'd been taken of real people actually making use of a real space. As such, I avoided photos with models looking at the camera, and prioritized "action shots" showing models interacting in some way with the environment or mid-action, making use of the resources being highlighted.

An image showing two people in a library, looking at a book together. Text beside them reads Ask for help at FPL. Use your library card to book free sessions with one of our tutors in a wide range of subjects.

My favorite details of the project:

I enjoyed experimenting with wave-shaped masks on the stock photos to form more interesting and eye-catching lines, looking to trends I've seen in a number of display ads recently, where unusual shapes add a fun or more dynamic feeling and create interesting opportunities for laying out copy.

The stock photos and videos used for these ads are royalty-free, but I would like to credit the talented photographers who took the photos. The photos used for this project were taken by the following people: Yan Krukov, Tima Miroshnichenko, Christina Morillo, SHVETS production, and cottonbro studio.