A Brand for Utah's Romance Bookstore

The Brief

Lovebound Library opened its door as Utah’s first romance bookstore in February 2024. The new store has become a location for community meet-ups and book clubs. As a brand, storefront, and community space, Lovebound Library's mission is to connect readers and celebrate a thriving genre.

Position & Strategy

While romance bookstores already exist in some cities, Lovebound Library is a unique establishment in Salt Lake City. The brand needed to excemplify the attitude of feminism in popular culture. Queer people and women were the main audience for the visual identity. The brand process required research on romantics literature popular in the late 1900s in order to channel an established romance aesthetic. The challenge was to ensure that Lovebound clearly visually exists in the present day, despite its aged source material.

Early Concepting

Type was chosen with the intent to inspire a sense of established maturity, while also introducing contemporary fonts in order to bring the visual identity into the modern day. The logotype, Windsor bold, is paired with PP Agrandir and Bradford mono, two typefaces developed within the last ten years. This contrast reflects the attitude of feminism and the romance genre, everlasting and evolving.

Shades of pink and green are the two poles on the color palette. The vibrant pinks and orange imply an attitude of passion, excitement, and affection. The deeper greens were selected to communicate a notion of bookish safety and coziness, while contrasting with the intensity of the warmer colors. Sand grounds the palette in cool earthiness.

Final Expression

Lovebound Library opened its doors in February of 2024. In addition to the visual identity, a number of products were produced to accompany the opening.