Guanshan Books

01Background

Guanshan is a ten-year-old independent bookstore in Nanjing, moving from the old town to a new cultural district. The old logo was handwritten. The new shop needed a fuller identity while keeping the warmth regulars knew.

02My role

I redrew the logo, built the visual system, and designed the paper bags, tote bags, bookmarks, stamps and other merchandise.

03Process

1. 1

   Keeping the handwriting

   The wordmark keeps the stroke habits of the old shop’s handwriting. I only tidied the structure, so regulars still recognise it at a glance.

2. 2

   A book and a hill in one

   The two pages of the book are the two slopes of a hill, and a thin line underneath is the ground. It says “reading is like climbing” with as few parts as possible.

3. 3

   Merch you can actually use

   Tote bags, paper bags and bookmarks are all designed for the moment of buying books, not for display. The stamp, a small surprise after a purchase, ended up being the thing customers photograph most.

04Result

The new shop opened at the end of 2023. The tote bag became the most popular merch item and was restocked three times in three months.