The world's biggest trade book publishing group has a new face: Almost a year after the completion of the merger, Penguin Random House has now introduced its new branding. It reflects the new company's values, goals and strengths – especially its unique position in the international book market and its commitment to the many and varied publishers that provide a creative home to the world's most popular authors and books.
The new Penguin Random House corporate brand dispenses entirely with pictures or symbols and concentrates on the wordmark, underscoring the crucial importance of the written word to the publishing group's culture and work.
In most cases, however, booksellers, readers and the public will encounter the new corporate brand paired with the logo of one of the 250 widely recognized and respected publishing divisions, imprints, and brands that are united – yet still independent in their publishing activities – under the Penguin Random House umbrella. The brand system underlying these pairings is deliberately kept flexible and can be employed regionally as well as at a given level of the publishing structure. This applies, for instance, the company's activities in a particular country. However, such a pairing with the Group logo is not mandatory – established publishing logos can continue to stand on their own.
The company is convinced that the visual connection between the Penguin Random House wordmark and each publishing symbol creates a mutually enhancing and reinforcing brand identity for both. On the one hand, the pairing denotes the global scale and reach of Penguin Random House, and on the other, it showcases the individuality and creativity of the company's diverse publishing portfolio.
Markus Dohle, CEO of Penguin Random House, says: "Presenting our new Penguin Random House wordmark side by side with each of our publishing imprint and brand symbols powerfully communicates what makes our company so special: Our collective expertise and global scale coupled with our local publishing teams giving diverse and important voices a platform and audience. This fundamental understanding of our heritage and of the company we are building together for the future informs the design of the brand identity, and how we will visually represent who we are."
Penguin Random House developed the new branding with the renowned design agency Pentagram.
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