Park Literary & Media
Identity & Web for a unique literary agency.
Founded in 2005, Park Literary & Media is a full-service literary agency representing fiction and nonfiction creators. After a decade of steady growth and success, PLM decided it was time for their brand to catch up to the caliber of service they provided for their clients. Type/Code was tasked with helping PLM to identify the qualities of their business that best represent them, and channel those into a full re-brand and digital overhaul.
Understanding the Brand
Within its field, PLM can best be described as a bit of a maverick — providing a suite of services that extend beyond the typical literary agent; sometimes venturing into publisher territory, and always leveraging their unique connections with media production partners to give their clients maximum exposure. Type/Code cycled through several branding approaches that spoke to this nature — busybee animals, kinetic typography, and morphing iconography — resulting in an identity that was bold, iconic, and dynamic.
An identity that’s flexible & light
The dynamic identity system calls on traditional iconography — bookends, formed conveniently from the letterform “L” — to speak to the core literary business of PLM. When expressed kinetically, it becomes the framing mechanism for key information across collateral, highlighting associate names, services, and departments. The dynamic nature of the logotype also allows it to fit snugly in a myriad of applications, fully collapsing down to an initialism when necessary in responsive web applications. A full stationery suite was developed for PLM, including details like a finely die-cut bookend “L” on the business cards and full-bleed color washes over selected elements.
Accelerating business through the digital platform
PLM’s former website presented several opportunities to better facilitate objectives for both clients and the company’s representatives. For years, PLM used manually maintained Powerpoints, PDFs, and Word documents to present examples of their impact to potential clients; maintaining these took time and resources that could be better leveraged on richer and more inspiring collateral. To solve this issue, Type/Code incorporated flexible templates for case studies into the new site — giving PLM the ability to document their best work with rich media and text layouts, and share that work seamlessly. Case studies can be built in streams, where each fragment of text or media is defined by a “streamblock,” allowing PLM to rearrange and expand case studies as their analog components changes and evolves. Essential statistics and facts receive their own real estate, allowing PLM to effectively highlight the reach and impact of their inventive promotional solutions.
While case studies may be considered the cornerstone of PLM’s new web presence, other features were incorporated to facilitate interaction with potential media partners and publishers. Regularly updated listings of clients and published titles, light journal updates from guest authors and agents, and easily accessible Rights Guides make inquiries from publishing and media partners quick and effortless to handle, accelerating PLM’s business lifecycle.
Type/Code was able to perfectly realize our vision. We have gotten many compliments on the website from other agents and industry colleagues. Our website traffic has increased, and the user friendly interface allows us to update it periodically with news about our clients.— Emily Sweet, Executive Director, Brand Development
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