Press Release

For Immediate Release
Maggie Killackey Jurgensen
Chicago Public Library
312-747-4051

CHICAGO PUBLIC LIBRARY BEGINS A NEW CHAPTER WITH REVITALIZED IDENTITY
New Identity and House Style Signals Changes as Part of the Library's Strategic Plan
January 9, 2007

Landor Associates, in partnership with the Chicago Public Library, is proud to announce the launch of a revitalized visual identity and house style for the 79-branch system, one of Chicago’s greatest cultural and educational institutions.

The visual identity revitalization is the latest effort rooted in Chicago Public Library 2010: A Vision For Our Future, a strategic plan that identifies the Library’s goals and opportunities for the next several years. This pro bono donation to the Library through the Chicago Public Library Foundation, came at the request of John La Sage, Chairman of the Foundation’s Marketing Committee and Chairman, Midwest Region for Burson-Marsteller.

The Chicago Public Library began rolling out the identity on various materials for events in November 2006, including Bookamania, the Library’s annual Children’s Book Festival and the Creating a City of Readers symposium. Throughout 2007, the implementation will continue with advertising and banners, while each branch library will also begin using the new identity and house style.

“Working with the Chicago Public Library on this initiative has been a wonderful experience,” said Ed Keller, Director of Landor’s Chicago office. “Aside from being an organization that offers free educational resources for people from all walks of life, the Library is also one of the leading systems in the nation, for its level of quality and commitment to the community.”

The revitalized identity is a green seal, which retains much of the equity in the previous identity, but now incorporates the words “Chicago Public Library” within it. The new seal represents qualities of openness and approachability found at the heart of the Library’s mission and in their tagline, “Read. Learn. Discover.”

The “Y” graphic at the center of the seal – representing the Chicago River, north and south branches – serves as a foundation for the entire house style system, using color photography of people interacting at the library and taking advantage of the resources available. The house style will be used across all points of interaction by patrons with the brand, from library cards to signage, from the website to the annual report.

“The launch of this new identity sends a clear message that the Chicago Public Library is a vibrant institution, which will continue to grow and change with the needs of our patrons,” commented Chicago Public Library Commissioner Mary A. Dempsey. “Landor Associates collaborated with Library staff to ensure our new logo would be dynamic and flexible for years to come, while retaining elements which reflect our proud history.”

Landor Associates also created a complementary visual identity for the Chicago Public Library Foundation, an independent, non-profit organization engaged in a public/ private partnership with the city to provide funding for collections, programming and technology initiatives of the Chicago Public Library.

Landor Associates
Landor Associates is one of the world’s leading strategic brand and design consultancies. Founded by Walter Landor in 1941, Landor pioneered many of the research, design and consulting methods that are now standard in the branding industry. Partnering with clients, Landor drives business transformation and performance by creating brands that are more innovative, progressive and dynamic than their competitors.

Landor’s holistic approach to branding is a balance of rigorous, business-driven thinking and exceptional creativity. Its work spans the full breadth of branding services, including brand research and valuation, brand positioning and architecture, naming and writing, corporate identity and consumer packaging design, branded experience, brand equity management, internal branding and digital branding.

With 22 offices in 17 countries, Landor’s current and past clients include some of the world’s most powerful brands, such as BP, Cathay Pacific, Delta, Diageo, Emaar Properties, FedEx, Frito-Lay, Hyatt Hotels, the City of Hong Kong, LG Group, Microsoft, Numico, Procter & Gamble, PepsiCo and Telefonica.

Landor is part of WPP, one of the world’s largest global communications services companies.

For more information, please visit www.landor.com.

Chicago Public Library
The Chicago Public Library is comprised of the Harold Washington Library Center, two regional libraries and 76 neighborhood branches. The Library offers rich resources of books, DVDs, audio books and more, provides free access to the Internet and WiFi in all of its locations, as well as free public programs for children, teens and adults.

The Harold Washington Library Center, Carter G. Woodson Regional Library and Conrad Sulzer Regional Library are open 7 days a week, the remaining 76 branch libraries are open 6 days a week and patrons can access all of the libraries’ collections online 24 hours a day. For more information, please visit the website at chicagopubliblibrary.org, or call the Chicago Public Library Press Office at (312) 747-4050.