Fresh look ushers in fresh era for children’s publisher

June 10, 2014 — Minneapolis, MN

ABDO (abdopublishing.com), a leading educational publisher, announced today a complete branding overhaul set to be unveiled during the American Library Association’s Annual Conference in Las Vegas, Nevada, later this month (6/27–30).

A family-run company, ABDO applied the idea of a family tree to the overall approach of this rebrand to help strengthen each of the company’s divisions and their relationships to the company as a whole, while leveraging familiarity with the popular ABDO name. With new identities for the Abdo Publishing, Magic Wagon, Spotlight, and Abdo Digital divisions, the company now makes room for the all-new Abdo Kids division and clarifies the company name—ABDO—from the division name—Abdo Publishing.

The project has involved re-envisioning more than 30 division and imprint names, along with the development of a never-before-used visual branding structure, over the course of 9 months and countless meetings between the executive team and a newly established creative team. The new look and structure is directly related to a larger internal movement, resulting in a branding reflection from the inside out.

“We reorganized internally this year to improve workflow, communication, and morale between employees. We wanted to bring that same value and effectiveness to the customer experience as well,” says Paul Abdo, Editor-in-Chief. “It just made sense to consider a fresh start across the board, and we’re so excited to reintroduce ourselves with this new look. Our books offer the same features librarians have always loved—but the experience of sourcing and purchasing them will be more pleasurable.”

Dorothy Toth, Creative Director, was brought on board last fall as part of the reorganization and has been crucial to the formation and execution of this new company vision. “ABDO is a fun, enthusiastic company, and we wanted to maintain that feeling in the new look. It was important to think holistically and find a way to marry the unique character of each existing logo with a new system of organization. I believe we achieved that—and the design elements we considered, such as color families and simple, bold graphics, will appeal logically and aesthetically to our customers and peers.” At the same, Toth emphasizes that this branding project “goes hand-in-hand with a continued commitment to create the strongest teamwork, unity, and products we can.”

BreAnn Rumsch, Marketing and Communications Manager for ABDO, reinforces the focus on organization as a foundational element to the rebrand. “Library Science is based on a structured system… it’s extremely important to us that the avenues librarians use to source our titles make sense to them—because librarians are at the heart of what we do. They are behind every decision we’re making right now.”

In the coming months, customers will see the results of the undertaking, applied to that very idea: for the first time, ABDO will release a comprehensive catalog sorted by subject area, and launch a restructured and redesigned website that makes searching and purchasing more streamlined—with the new visual identity system infused throughout. Customers can expect to see the fresh, modern yet playful feel of the company’s new typeface, colors, and logos across all of the ABDO divisions and their products.

Rumsch asserts, “With new logos and consistent color cues, font choices, and messaging throughout, we are working to reinforce familiarity and eliminate ambiguity at every interaction with ABDO.”

About ABDO

ABDO, a family-owned company, has been publishing educational materials for more than 30 years, including library bound print editions and a variety of digital products. The company is comprised of five divisions: Abdo Publishing, Magic Wagon, Spotlight, Abdo Kids, and Abdo Digital. For more information, visit ABDO online at abdopublishing.com.