Twice Sold Tales
Rebranding Twice Sold Tales, a Seattle local bookstore, to expand its market reach and establish a more recognizable brand identity.
My Role
Branding, Research, Logo design, Layout, Web design, Packaging, Environmental graphics.
Duration
12 Weeks
Tools
InDesign
Photoshop
Illustrator
Miro
Procreate
Overview
Twice sold tales is a used bookstore in Seattle and the current branding is limited and inconsistent and doesn’t represent the rich history. By developing a stronger visual identity, the bookstore can open new marketing avenues and become a community staple, easily identifiable and memorable to its patrons.
The Challenge
How might I rebrand Twice Sold Tales bookstore to increase marketing and reach to current and new customers.
Design
Recyclable & Compostable Bags
Website
Stickers
Bookmarks
Social Media
Research
History
Twice Sold Tales is a used bookstore with an extensive inventory (~10,000 books) and live-in cat residents, located downtown Seattle in Capitol Hill. Owner Lutton had a humble start to bookselling, peddling her goods from cardboard boxes around Seattle college campuses in the 1980s. In 1988 a vendor from the struggling Broadway Market suggested she set up shop in one of the market’s empty vendor stalls. For $300 a month she got two carts and some floor space. Lutton showed up with 300 books and, to her surprise, made $100 the first day. “It was good money, so I came back the next day. I haven’t stopped since”.
After outgrowing the carts, Lutton expanded to her first brick-and-mortar store in July 1990. The Broadway and East John St. location was a Capitol Hill fixture for nearly two decades and became a neighborhood-defining store.
Audience
The primary audience of Twice Sold Tales is book lovers and who like sustainability by reusing books and collect rare books and like to support local businesses.
The secondary audience is educators and students, cat lovers, tourists, and retired folks.
Process
Mission Statement
Twice Sold Tales is Seattle’s quirky local bookstore that holds surprises around every corner. We offer a diverse range of titles, book trade-ins, and the chance to meet our cute bookstore kitties! With the help of our knowledgeable owner, everyone should be able to find what they’re looking for at an affordable price. All are welcome to explore stories both new and old here at Twice Sold Tales.
Promise
We believe access to used and rare affordable books is important for our customers. That’s why both of our local locations offer a diverse selection of books at competitive rates — money shouldn’t stand in the way of knowledge. We are not only in the business of selling books, but we’re also experts on literature and can work with our customers one-on-one. You won’t find this local flavored atmosphere or intimate cat filled setting anywhere else. Customers can browse for gems & other rarities in our store or by browsing our listings online through 3rd party retailers. Everyone has the opportunity to find something at Twice Sold Tales.
Why a Rebrand
• Current branding is limited and inconsistent (across outdoor signage, prints, website, merchandise, etc.)
• Existing logo doesn’t represent the rich history or the experience in store at Twice Sold Tales.
• A stronger visual identity would present opportunities for increased marketing and reach to current and new customers.
Branding Identity
Characteristics
After an in-depth researching, approachable, quirky, and local were identified as the core values and fundamentals of the Twice Sold Tales.
Concept Board
The concept board includes color usage, two sans-serif type, illustration style, texture, two patterns and image treatment. It will show how to combine all of elements together to present a brand.
The visual patterns tie back to the curious browsing that when people come in to the store, they will be curious and want to have the time to browse. The warm inviting colors and the soft organic shapes encourage them to browse and feel welcomed. The patterns help to direct people or frame things and guide people as they are browsing.
Patterns
Twice Sold Tales has two visual patterns that serves different purposes.
The Framing pattern is a background pattern that serves as decoration to activate negative spaces. It is used to enclose text and other content such as images. The pattern uses two of the calming colors in the color palette with 80% transparency to be less saturated.
The Directional pattern is used with a headline, subheadline, or with a single element. It provides directional guidance to the content. The pattern uses a combination of one calming color and two accent colors to get the attention of the viewer.
Framing pattern
Directional pattern
Brandmark
1. Primary Brandmark
Since the cat is a unique element of Twice Sold Tales, combining the cat and books with the stacked name of Twice Sold Tales can express the characteristics of the bookstore.
2. Secondary Brandmark
If the brandmark is to be placed in an area with limited vertical space, then use of the text-only logo for optimal space utilization.
3. Isolated Brandmark
The isolated mark is to be used as an iconic brand logo or on material without text. The mark is recommended to be used when the name Twice Sold Tales is presented.
What I learned
“Aha” Moment
I was wrapping up the concept board and started working on the different deliverables. I had 6 iterations for my concept board. For some reason, every time I felt ready and started to make the deliverables I was still confused, and had to jump back to the concept board span. The reason was my concept board was not clear enough. I was surprised at how much information like patterns, image treatment were contained in my concept board. After my concept board is locked up, I had the opportunity to look back at it to remind myself which direction to go and why.
Reason for Success
The digital presence of Twice Sold Tales serves as a gateway to connect customers with the bookstore remotely. The website contains not only information about the bookstore but also featured books and the unique store live-in cats. The overall design of the website should be approachable and easy to navigate. Pattern usage adds a quirky sense to the website and the typography usage should follow the style guidelines.
