Publishing Imprints

Introduction

What is an imprint and why might you want one? An imprint, simply, is the publisher's name and identity. At its best, an imprint functions as a hallmark of consistency, or a brand. For example, the penguin of Penguin Books is a simple mark that denotes the look and feel of the brand. Books published under that imprint meet a defined standard.

An imprint is often represented by a logo and/or name on the spine or front matter. Frequently commercial publishers have multiple imprints because they want to cultivate particular audiences.

There are two elements to an imprint:

1. design (e.g., colors, fonts, layouts, and book covers)
2. editorial (e.g., a style guide)

Both of these elements resonate among readers.

Considering Your Imprint

If you decide you want an imprint for your library publications, consider the mission of your organization. Your university mission offers the fundamental backbone for your imprint. It can also be leveraged for your visual brand. Perhaps your university colors are green and gold, and your mascot is the gopher. That visual identity may inform the look and feel of your imprint. Another key question to consider when defining your imprint:

• Who is your audience?

The answer is students, of course. But dig deeper. Perhaps you work at a campus where the majority of students are city commuters. Perhaps this means that your book covers feature city images rather than country images, to reflect how they're tailored to your campus community.

Your goal is to create a series of publications that speaks to your community. For most of us, our community is our campus. That means the imprint can reflect the university aesthetic. It doesn’t need to replicate university branding, but it probably should intuitively connect to your institutional identity. You know your faculty and students best. Keep them in mind.

Launching an Open Textbook Imprint

We suggest collaborating with your marketing department, and familiarizing yourself with your institution's brand guidelines. That said, you can launch an imprint at any point in your publishing process. Which best fits your imprint situation?

"We're just getting started and don’t have set design and editorial standards."

You may not want or need an imprint at this stage. As your program grows, keep in mind if and how you might eventually incorporate editorial standards and brand elements into a future imprint.

"We're just getting publishing started and want to define a consistent brand standard."

At this early stage, you can spend time mapping and defining your imprint based on the considerations above. You'll also want to develop a style guide, and, if you can, establish a team of editors, copyeditors, and designers. Working with a consistent team can result in a higher level of consistency.

"We’ve created our imprint and want to update previous publications to fit it."

Some open textbook publishing programs may wish to revisit past publications and issue new editions that reflect greater consistency for their student audiences. This can also be an opportunity to incorporate feedback from students, adopters and peer reviewers from the Open Textbook Library and elsewhere.

Defining Your Style Guide

Having your own style guide is a key part of developing your consistent imprint. If working with freelance editors and designers, it is especially important to have a style guide. This is so that your various publications reflect your imprint, rather than the various styles of your freelancers.

Imprint in Print

In terms of signifying your imprint in each publication, it may be as simple as including your organization's name and address in the front matter. If you'd like your imprint on the spine, you will likely need to develop a visual mark, or logo, that will be simple and easy to read at a glance when very small. A good partner for this work could be your marketing and communications department at your institution.

Imprint Examples

1. The OpenStax Links to an external site. imprint includes consistent colors, fonts, and book covers Links to an external site. for both digital and print books.
2. The BCcampus Links to an external site. imprint includes their logo and color themes. Their book covers feature large pictures and clear, bold titles. They follow the Canadian Press Stylebook. Links to an external site.

Open textbooks fill digital shelves Links to an external site. by Province of British Columbia on Flickr Links to an external site. is licensed CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 Links to an external site.

3. The Open Oregon Educational Resources Links to an external site. imprint includes a logo, color themes, and book design with white font on a solid color background.

Open Oregon Educational Resources Links to an external site. cover design by Debbie Berne Links to an external site.is licensed under CC BY 4.0  Links to an external site.