Open Books
Rebrand Case Study
Role
Web Design
Prototyping
Tools
Figma
Timeline
April 2025 - June 2025
Photopea
Storytelling
Content Strategy
Project Overview
What is Open Books?
Open books is a Chicago-based literacy nonprofit organization founded in 2006 that aims to transform lives through reading, writing, and the power books. It is one of the largest used book resellers in Chicago, which has four locations around the city. Their programs were created to push beyond barriers in order to provide invaluable learning material for individuals of all ages.
Achievements of Open Books
Since their debut in 2006, Open Books has given away over 1.37 million books to children, educators, and partner organizations.
In recent years, the nonprofit has been serving roughly 5,000 K-12 students annually through both in-school and after-school programs
Open Books’ instructional programs (one-on-one Reading Buddies, early childhood
Storytimes, etc.) have served nearly 47,000 students.
Brand Analysis
The brand of Open Books is a perfect example of an organization with a strong mission statement. It is a book store that doubles as an organization to improve literacy in the local area was a perfect fit for our efforts. Moreover, the team knew its brand identity and website layout could benefit from a complete reformation of the visual elements and other aspects.
To gain a deeper understanding of the content and visuals being reformed, their interface layout had been analyzed in terms of how Open Books appeals to learners through its website and social account.
Header has cluttered arrangement of components
Homepage does not clearly indicate that users can scroll down
Poor color contrast between text, buttons, and backgrounds
Lack of a consistent brand identity and style across platforms
Wall of text significantly decreases user engagement
Opportunities
➤ Expand on environmental Appeal​
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➤ Have authenticity & Transparency
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➤ Allow for flexible engagement
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➤ Enhance online storytelling: blogs, video testimonials, and outcome-driven narratives.
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➤ ​​​​Create compelling infographics showing books donated, programs launched, and volunteer hours.
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➤ ​​Implement strategic digital marketing via social media platforms and influencer partnerships.​​​
Rebranding
Logo Redesign
Original design possesses a hand drawn style to represent the quirky and playful tone of Open Books
Open Book's logo was extremely effective at portraying their brand identity. The hand drawn logo conveyed the fun and hope that comes from learning how to read. Our group wanted to significantly alter the logo; however, we aimed to introduce a vibrant yellow to highlight its playful elements and align it with the rest of the branding.
Old Logo
New Logo
New design enhances the logo through the addition of another color that depicts the brand identity
Style Guide
The selection of fonts from Open Books was particularly strong or in line with the character of the brand. The serif headings are a strong indicator of a literacy-related brand and Lora Bold was a great fit for headings and large call outs.
Each color from the website is diverse, but was not properly used across the rest of the brand. A consistent color palette with additional accent colors had been added to enhance the user experience across all forms of written and verbal communication on the website layouts.
Wireframe Layouts
A complete overhaul of the web design had been implemented to ensure it has a more cohesive brand identity and streamlines the process of reaching certain goals for users.
The following alterations have been made to the website layout:
➤ Improved header/footer layout to strengthen site resource arrangement.
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➤ Discarded the “Buy Books for Kids” tab to reduce unnecessary space.
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➤ Scaled down visual elements to reach features or information more quickly.
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➤ Added more stylistic shapes andicons to strengthen visual appeal.​​
Homepage
About
Programs
Bookstores
North Lawndale Reads
Final Version
The improvements made to the final interface screens of the website arranges each visual and interactive element neatly to streamline how user's navigate to specific pages and utilize distinct features, reinforcing the foundation of Open Books' design system and brand identity by the following changes:
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➤ Organized header/footer layout to simplify site resources.
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➤ Discarded the “Buy Books for Kids” tab to reduce unnecessary space.
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➤ Scaled down graphics to reach features or information seamlessly and quickly.
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➤ Added more stylistic shapes and icons to heighten visual appeal.​​
Homepage
About
Programs
Bookstores
