Branding · Logo · Print · Web
Orso Editions, an identity that fits inside an O.
A full identity and online store for a young publishing house — a dreamy dog, a signature "O", and a world designed to grow with its readers.
The project
The context,
and what we did.
The starting point
Orso Editions is a young publishing house in the north of France, with a varied catalogue aimed first at children. The challenge: an identity that evokes the dreams and imagination of childhood, without tipping into the overly childish — because the house also plans, in time, to publish books for adults.
Our response
The client wanted a dog — “Orso”. We drew it friendly, with droopy ears and a dreamy gaze, around three keywords: expression, discovery, reflection. For the name, we opened up the kerning to improve legibility and give the “O” room to breathe. And that “O” is the heart of the system: “Orso” boils down to that single letter, a light, recognisable signature that also serves to name the collections (“O. Adventure”, “O. Kids”…).
For the colours, a blue and a salmon pink as the mains, with three support tones to add variety. Two sans-serifs, Josefin and Overpass, bring that young, friendly, dynamic feel. We rolled it all out across simple yet recognisable business cards (that “O.” again), an e-commerce site to showcase the collections and sell books in print and digital, and other materials — right down to the large banner on the front of their offices.
The outcome
Orso Editions has a consistent, clever identity system: the modular “O” gives the house a memorable signature and a mechanism ready to carry new collections — and, tomorrow, its opening up to other audiences. All rounded off with an online store to start selling from day one.