JPL

The Jewish Public Library is one of the leading cultural institutions in Montreal – serving a diverse community with a multitude of cultural events. Today the JPL operates in many more languages than the four original ones.

Applications: Branding • Graphic Design • Brochures • Collateral • Exhibits • Signage • Book Publishing

Re-branding/100th Anniversary Campaign

Jewish Public Library’s (JPL) 100th anniversary – time to rebrand.

Objectives: To refresh the identity in a way that will stay true to its origin, yet will reflect the JPL’s current position within the Montreal community. The refreshed logo had to be more inclusive, multi-cultural, contemporary, and indicate the institution’s services in both official languages in Quebec: French and English and enable better reproduction abilities.

Solution: The misleading name limited efforts to position the JPL as an organization open to all religions (vs. “Jewish”), to all people (“Public”) with services far beyond books (“Library”). The refreshed logo uses only the abbreviation –“BPJ” (French), “JPL” (English) – conveying a contemporary, memorable, more inclusive identity. The stationery pays tribute to Hebrew and Yiddish heritage while a new bilingual tagline captures the essence of this institution (Culture, Education, Inspiration).

The changed symbol-typography ratio and modified colour choice allows for better reproduction also in small size and suitability for varied media.

Fundraising Campaign: For its centennial in 2014, the JPL embarked on a fundraising campaign to sustain the future of this iconic institution. As a core tool, CommDesign designed an entire Case for Support consisting of a pocket folder, staggered fact sheets and a fundraising brochure for potential donors. A special calendar was created to highlight the many programs and services the JPL is offering for the past 100 years.

Hermes Gold Award 2018 for JPL Spring Covers

The JPL’s Children Library has recently been restructured to better answer demand in the community and was renamed “Youth Space”.

Mandate: To draw attention to this new section and the new activities/programs it offers to pre-teens/teens.
Solution: We re-designed the semi-annual program brochure with two covers on opposite ends – one for youth, the other for adults to enable quick access per target audience. Both covers were designed with a spring-summer colour scheme and theme in mind.

To heighten visibility of the new YOUTH SPACE and draw pre-teens’ attention, we used images and fonts that reflect the visual language currently popular with youth. We achieved that by featuring a detail shot of a teen wearing friendship bracelets (foreshadowing on activities/dynamics at the Youth Space) on the Youth cover and using a handwritten, painterly font for a less formal appeal.

Centenary Exhibit at Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec

As part of the 100th anniversary campaign, CommDesign designed an authentic exhibit that captures a piece of local history. The rare documents and unique photographs on display at BAnQ draw a vivid picture of the multi-cultural role of this institution and its involvement in Montreal society for the past 100 years.

Semi-annual Program Brochures

2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012-13
2014-15

Apart from traditional library services, the JPL and its Children’s Library offer a vast variety of cultural programs and events. Since 2004, CommDesign has been creating the semi-annual program brochure known for its signature covers – always greatly anticipated by JPL patrons.