Library Logo Breakdown: Lake Villa District Library

Logos may act as the first opportunity for patrons to connect with the library. Found on bookmarks, signage, websites, and other outreach materials, a well-designed logo is a tool to aid the public perception of the library.  

So, what does an effective library logo look like? What considerations do libraries need to address when designing their logos?

In response to these questions—and because the topic of logo design is so fun to discuss! —we will be exploring our member libraries’ logos in the series: Library Logo Breakdown.  

We’ve solicited responses from libraries about the story of their logos, and we will present the information they’ve shared in this series.  

Our featured logo for this week comes from Lake Villa District Library. Nina Kenney, the Head of Communications explains their logo!  

GG: How long ago did you begin using your current logo?  

NK: Lake Villa District Library’s logo was updated in 2014, which seems like a million years ago, but it still works for us.  

GG: What is the story of your logo?  

NK: It was done in-house by a staff-led Marketing/Branding committee. Committee surveys and focus groups were facilitated over a period of many months to gauge how the community viewed the library and we interact/serve the community. The logo design was created by Meg Gruchot, LVDL’s Graphic Artist and many, many, many drafts were created before the final design.

Also included in the marketing/branding was creating the mission statement: We enrich life in our community by connecting people with resources, services, and each other. During the recent strategic planning project, the mission statement got a slight tweak:  We enrich life by connecting people with resources, services, spaces and each other.  The update was appropriate as we had moved to a brand new building in August of 2019 and a new Library Director in May of 2020.    

The tagline “Connecting People” is the root of all we do yet it’s different for everyone. It might be connecting a person to their next favorite author, a quiet place to study, research resources or later this fall, it might be enjoying the library’s newly designed outdoor space.  

Thank you to Nina Kenney for her time and assistance with this blog post.