“FEBO is an up-and-coming Italian book publisher, which offers editorial products with the intention of creating a large and new cultural heritage. It aims to establish transversal knowledge in the reader, where the masterpieces of fiction are enhanced by graphic projects full of hidden references. By giving the book this new look, FEBO hopes to rekindle the public's interest in these texts. FEBO’s goal is to spread a new culture of books, especially among the youngest, and to encourage them to discover the most illustrious examples of international literature for the first time. FEBO intends to reach the young audience by guiding them to reading through captivating products.”
FEBO’s name was inspired by Apollo’s Roman name, god of poetry and literature:
φοῖβος (phoibos), which means “shining, pure”.
The pictogram was inspired by the alchemical symbol of the Sun, key element of Apollo’s cult and representation of life and omniscience. It is often connected to the Magnum Opus, the path that accompanies the alchemist in his spiritual metamorphosis through study in all fields of knowledge. The construction of the shape also recalls the letter "O"
of the Roman Lapidary, the alphabet used by the Ancient Romans for the creation
of stone inscriptions (and also used for the whole logotype).
The payoff refers to a phrase by the Latin poet Quintus Horatius Flaccus (commonly known as Horace), taken from his poem Ars Poetica. "It pleases, and instructs, if you mix the useful with the sweet": according to the author, poetry and literature must play a pedagogical role and, at the same time, entertain the reader.
Note: as part of an university final project, I was asked to create the Visual Identity of this fictional book publisher, starting from the concept, then the logo and its applications in different contexts. This book publisher would have published an editorial collection consisting of nine books, the creation of which is the second part of the project (you can find it here).
Year: 2022
Project: Student project completed at Sapienza University (Rome)
Softwares: Adobe Illustrator, Adobe inDesign, Adobe Photoshop
