Echo Books Brand Standards by Beck Scassellati

Contents

A Letter from the CEO. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Our Story. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Logo Guidelines. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Area of Isolation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

DO & DONâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;T. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Dingbat the Bat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Color Palette. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Typography. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Echo Self-Publishing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 About Us. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Advertising. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Brand Examples. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

A Letter from the CEO When my husband Tommy

and I finished writing our first children’s novel, we faced a quandary: how to get it published? I penned the story and he drew the pictures, but neither of us was a professional writer or illustrator. It wasn’t likely a publishing agency would pick up the literary lovechild of two hobbyists, and although there are plenty of self-publishing services available online, they’re often expensive, difficult to operate, and reach a very limited audience. We knew the world needed an

easy-to-publish, easy-to-access bookstore, and that led to the creation of Echo Books. And so, we wanted our brand to reflect these ideals and services. The result is a fun, attractive, functional look with a playful mascot and simple, illustrative interface. Tommy and I would like to ask you once more: come visit your local Echo Bookstore today! You’ll find whatever kind of book you seek. And who knows, maybe you’ll fall in love with a budding author who you never would have discovered otherwise.

Abigail Fisher Abigail Fisher CEO of Echo Books

Our Story Echo Books was founded

in 2016 by freelance author Abigail Fisher and her husband, graphic designer Atom “Tommy” Gatlin. We are a small bookstore that sells standard books as well as self-published titles, located in the Griffin Crossings Mall. We exist to offer a local alternative to large chain bookstores and also provide a platform that self-published authors might not otherwise have. We stand for promoting literature, literacy, creative writing, and a general love of books. This is because we believe books are integral to both entertainment and education. Reading is a good pastime for anyone regardless of age, background, or social class. There is a definite disconnect between self-published authors’

pride in their work and the low chances of their work becoming financially successful. We formed Echo Books as the solution. In addition to our own unique self-publishing process, we reached out to other selfpublishing platforms to offer another outlet to sell books made using those services. People love Echo Books because we provide access to classic favorites and new novels alike. Our online eBookstore shows that we value eBooks as much as print books. We are inspired by various selfpublishing platforms, as well as by small-scale literary magazines for their use of creativity and self-sufficiency. We try to emulate big-name bookstores by offering a wide array of books as well as other products like stationery,

novelties, and educational toys and games. However, we do not condone the monopoly effect big bookstores have, and because of that, we will not let ourselves become subsidized by any of the bigger companies we partner with, to remain independent. Echo Books supports reading in education, from preschool all the way up through high school and college. We provide story-writing contests, reading marathons with prizes, and other fun events to encourage people of all ages to read, write, and engage with our store. Along with reading and writing, we support creativity of all forms and encourage that in both children and adults. We’re batty for books, and we want to share our passion for reading with you!

Our Logo Our logo features our mascot

Dingbat diving into an open book alongside our name, Echo Books, set in a fun, modern, decorative typeface. The Echo Books logo has two main variants. Both variants can appear in any color as long as there is enough contrast between the logo and the background. (see the DO and DONâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;T pages for more on this.)

Use this logo for when a subtle look is desired.

Use this logo for when a bold look is desired.

A circular version of the logo is used in Echo Books merchandise such as keychains, as well as online and on social media.

A horizontal version of the logo is used in publishing and in other horizontal situations, such as bookmarks. The symbol can be placed before or after the nameplate, but in publishing, it always appears before.

Area of Isolation

Be sure to leave an area of isolation the width of the “S” in “Echo Books” around the logo wherever it appears. 10

üDO

û DON’T Do not use the horizontal logo in situations where the regular logo would be a better fit. It should never be skewed.

Do not skew or rotate any versions of the logo.

All versions of the logo can appear in any color on any solid background as long as there is enough contrast.

Do not use colors with low contrast.

Do not use any versions of the logo over photography or other busy backgrounds.

Dingbat the Bat Dingbat is the mascot of Echo

Books. He is a playful and curious bat who loves to read. Dingbat is used in promotional media such as advertisements, merchandise, and social media, especially when directed toward children. Dingbat can appear on media without the logo if it is clear that media is Echo Books, such as the inner pages of a catalogue or on social media posts. On singular products, he should appear along with the Echo Books logo or nameplate.

Illustrations of Dingbat can be rotated or flipped, but should not be skewed.

Several poses for Dingbat are provided to be used in such material, including illustrations of him flying, reading, using the computer, and shrugging as if asking a question. This is so poses can be selected to match the subject of wherever they are being used.

The same poses are also included filled in, when an image with more visual weight is needed. 14

Dingbat can be placed over photographs, where his outline color is #1e1c37 (indigo) and his fill color is #e0d8c9 (cream). His books or computer can have any fill color. See the next page for more on the Echo Books color scheme.

Color Palette

Echo Books’ color scheme consists of three shades of dark blue—indigo, blue violet, and midnight blue—along with orchid, light green, and cream. Indigo and cream are the main colors used in branding, whether a light background or a dark one, with orchid and light green working as accent colors. Other tints, shades, and tones of these colors can be used if the design calls for it, but these are the main colors used in Echo Books branding.

#1e1c37

#2c2b61

#45408a

#8a5982

#89afb6

#e0d8c9

R = 30 G = 28 B = 55

R = 44 G = 43 B = 97

R = 69 G = 64 B = 138

R = 138 G = 89 B = 130

R = 137 G = 175 B = 182

R = 224 G = 216 B = 201

C = 88 M = 85 Y = 47 K = 58

C = 96 M = 94 Y = 33 K = 25

C = 89 M = 89 Y = 17 K = 4

C = 51 M = 74 Y = 28 K = 7

C = 49 M = 22 Y = 27 K = 0

C = 12 M = 12 Y = 20 K = 0

Midnight Blue

Indigo

Blue Violet

Orchid

Light Green

Cream

Typography Avenir Next

Starling

ABCDEFGHI abcdefghi 1234567890 1234567890 ;:’”< >[ ],./?! @#$%^&*( )

Avenir Next is the main sanserif font, used for headings, advertisements, and other instances where a sanserif font is needed. The condensed version can also be used when necessary.

Starling is the main serif font, used for body copy and other instances where a serif font is needed. Echo Books’ tagline, “up all night reading,” uses Starling Ultra Italic.

Hamburger Sandwitch

is used only for the Echo Books logo nameplate.

CCSignLanguage ABCDEFGHI abcdefghi 1234567890 1234567890 ;:’”< >[ ],./?! @#$%^&*( )

ABCDEFGHI abcdefghi 1234567890 1234567890 ;:’”< >[ ],./?! @#$%^&*( )

When I talk, the speech balloons are rectangular with rounded edges and a pointed tail.

-- white fill -- black stroke, size 3 pt -- rounded corners, size .25 in -- rounded stroke join

CCSignLanguage is used for instances when a comic font is needed, such as promotional material for children. It is also used in speech balloons when Dingbat talks.

Echo Self-Publishing About Us Our self-publishing service

is unique to small bookstores. Authors can upload their books in PDF form for free, paying only the printing fee for their preview copy. They will have to design and format the book themselves, though our online publishing site offers templates to assist them. A couple copies are then printed and stored in the “selfpublished” section of the store at no added cost to the author. This is because an allotted budget is set aside from other profits for this service. Further copies are then printed by demand, and if a book is very popular, larger quantities will be printed. This is the extent of our free services. However, for a fee, an author can pay to have their work edited and formatted 20

by our trained staff, including cover design. These books will also receive top advertisement billing in promotional material for the store. We employ skilled designers and editors, and also offer paid internships to students in graphic design or writing fields in order to fill these positions. Because of this, we are known for high-quality, good-looking self-published books. However, we do not want our self-publishing brand to be associated with the negative connotation of mediocrity, explicit content, substandard fanfiction, and general discomfort that people generally associate with self-publishing. To avoid this as much as possible, the self-published shelves are categorized by genre and

subject matter. Authors must indicate if their work contains mature content, which will be stored separately from books for general audiences or children. We also have algorithms to search for vulgar words/phrases, grammatical errors, and other objectionable keywords. Authors will be alerted of these as part of the publishing process, and if they choose not to change them, this will affect how and if the book is promoted. Echo Self-Publishing uses the same color scheme and simple graphic style of the rest of Echo Books, with the addition of the BookBat logo. The BookBat is used in all Echo Self-Publishing content including the books themselves.

Dingbat would like to be friends with the BookBat, but he’s not quite sure if it’s a book or a bat.

Look for the BookBat! That marks the self-published section in our store and on our website.

The BookBat has an area of isolation about the width of the negative space between its pages and its wing tips.

The same guidelines apply to the BookBat as to the standard logo.

Advertising Echo Books uses illustrations

often in advertising, such as lines of flying bats in our company color scheme. Ads and promotional material use a flat vector illustration style, as exemplified by the included poses for Dingbat. Photographs used in Echo Books advertising should portray books as elegant, exciting, fun, and/or intriguing. Other examples of advertisement photography used includes people reading, writing, or using electronic devices. Our slogan, “Up all night reading,” should also be used whenever applicable in media. Other slogans include “Batty for books!” and “Always on the hunt for books” when applicable.

To the right are examples of suitable photographs for Echo Books advertising. Overall, advertising should reflect our company values:

Creativity Quality Passion Humor Commitment Efficiency Literacy Learning

Example of a social media ad. Notice the use of Echo Booksâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; color scheme, bat illustrations, and prominent feature of Dingbat and the company logo.

Brand Examples

Are you a book, or are you a bat?

*book noises* Echo Books CEO: Abigail Fisher Griffin Crossings Mall 205 West Otterman Street Greensburg, Pa. 15601 Tel: (724) 555-ECHO echobookstore@gmail.com www.echobookstore.com Designed by Rebecca Scassellati www.rscassellati5.wixsite.com/mysite r.scassellati@setonhill.edu