Education design usually picks a side. Go bright and rounded, and the parents stop trusting it. Go serious, and the children stop opening it. Pédagomagie needed both readings at once, and it needed to keep working as the catalog grew. I built a modular identity where the illustration brings the warmth and the structure underneath brings the credibility, then drew the illustration myself so the two were never at odds. New titles slot into the system rather than starting a new conversation
CLIENT ▸ Pédagomagie, Aix-en-Provence, France
YEAR ▸ 2011
AREA ▸ Education & Publishing — Teaching Materials
AUDIENCE ▸ Teacher, Parent, Child
SCOPE ▸ Logo, visual identity, illustration, book layout, print and digital
SCALE ▸ 1 title, 24 templates, 4-month engagement
ROLE ▸ Art Director and Illustrator (Freelance)
TEAM ▸ Worked with a teacher
PROCESS ▸ Category audit → positioning → identity and grid system → illustration → templates and production files
YEAR ▸ 2011
AREA ▸ Education & Publishing — Teaching Materials
AUDIENCE ▸ Teacher, Parent, Child
SCOPE ▸ Logo, visual identity, illustration, book layout, print and digital
SCALE ▸ 1 title, 24 templates, 4-month engagement
ROLE ▸ Art Director and Illustrator (Freelance)
TEAM ▸ Worked with a teacher
PROCESS ▸ Category audit → positioning → identity and grid system → illustration → templates and production files
The Challenge
Two audiences judging on opposite signals: a child and the adult buying for them
A category that reads as either condescending or dry, rarely anything else
A growing catalog that could not afford a redesign for every new title
Two audiences judging on opposite signals: a child and the adult buying for them
A category that reads as either condescending or dry, rarely anything else
A growing catalog that could not afford a redesign for every new title
Strategic Approach
Playful and rigorous at the same time, rather than a compromise between them
Warmth carried by the illustration, credibility carried by the grid
Built modular from the start, so the system absorbs titles that do not exist yet
Playful and rigorous at the same time, rather than a compromise between them
Warmth carried by the illustration, credibility carried by the grid
Built modular from the start, so the system absorbs titles that do not exist yet
Creative Solution
A contemporary identity that is friendly without being infantile
Original illustration drawn to the system rather than bought in and fitted after
Typographic hierarchy built for readability first, by children and by adults
A contemporary identity that is friendly without being infantile
Original illustration drawn to the system rather than bought in and fitted after
Typographic hierarchy built for readability first, by children and by adults
Scope & System
Identity architecture and modular grids
Visual hierarchy and layout rules across book and print formats
Illustration language documented so it can extend
Identity architecture and modular grids
Visual hierarchy and layout rules across book and print formats
Illustration language documented so it can extend
Deliverables
+ Logo and brand guidelines
+ Book layout templates and print files
+ Original illustration set and digital assets
+ Logo and brand guidelines
+ Book layout templates and print files
+ Original illustration set and digital assets
Role & Leadership
Art Director and illustrator, from positioning through production files.
I drew the illustration myself, which is why the two halves fit: the warmth and the structure came from the same hand, rather than being negotiated between a designer and an illustrator afterward.
Art Director and illustrator, from positioning through production files.
I drew the illustration myself, which is why the two halves fit: the warmth and the structure came from the same hand, rather than being negotiated between a designer and an illustrator afterward.
On The Work
Most educational material is designed as though children were the only readers, which is why so much of it fails the adult deciding whether to buy it.
Designing for both at once is a constraint, not a compromise, and the constraint is what makes the work specific.
Most educational material is designed as though children were the only readers, which is why so much of it fails the adult deciding whether to buy it.
Designing for both at once is a constraint, not a compromise, and the constraint is what makes the work specific.
The logo was designed to feel friendly and intelligent,
approachable for children, credible for parents, and educators.
Its rounded forms and energetic structure support the brand idea:
learning as a joyful, shared experience.
approachable for children, credible for parents, and educators.
Its rounded forms and energetic structure support the brand idea:
learning as a joyful, shared experience.
Building something that has to earn trust from adults and attention from children?
