Rose revamps Whitbread identity

Rose Design has created this year’s brand identity for the Whitbread Book Awards. The identity was unveiled last week.

Rose’s design incorporates Whitbread’s existing logo, designed by Interbrand. The logo will brand all affiliated marketing and promotional collateral for the award, and will include materials such as specially designed bookmarks, programmes and point-of-sale posters. These items will be placed in book stores nationwide in the lead-up to the awards ceremony on 24 January.

‘The identity for the awards had to work with the design elements from the Whitbread identity. We created a variation of the Whitbread ‘W’ device for the awards, using the idea of open books to create the shape, and complemented it with an easy-to-read logotype,’ says Simon Elliott, creative director at Rose.

The consultancy began drawing up the identity last autumn and the artwork was finalised this month, adds Elliott. Rose was commissioned to the project following a recommendation last May.

The categories in this year’s award include Novel, Best First Novel, Children’s Book, Biography and Poetry Publication. The jurors include ITN newscaster Alastair Stewart and author Arabella Weir.

Rose is also developing internal communication and corporate material for Whitbread, which owns brands including Costa, TGI Friday’s and Premier Travel Inn, operating 1600 outlets across the UK.

The shortlist for this year’s Whitbread Book of the Year prize is drawn from the winners of its five categories and consists of: Ali Smith, for The Accidental, winner of the Novel Award; Tash Aw for the Harmony Silk Factory, winner of the First Novel Award; Hilary Spurling for Matisse the Master, winner of the Biography Award; Christopher Logue for Cold Calls, winner of the Poetry category; and Kate Thompson for the New Policeman, winner of the Children’s Book Award.