DESIGNING VALUABLE BRANDS FOR EXPERTISE-BASED ENTERPRISES

OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS

OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS 500th anniversary celebration.  For the “Quincentenary” David Laufer produced a brand standards manual, anniversary logo, pattern, and typographic system. The quincentenary brand helped focus the media on this remarkable milestone; it appeared in more than 60 publications worldwide, including Time Magazine, the World Tribune, and Publisher’s Weekly.

Oxford’s anniversary was supported by internal and external publicity. Publisher’s Weekly carried articles about the history. Internally, all advance copies sent to reviewers in the Quincentenary year were wrapped in special jacket using a repeat pattern celebrating “Publishers of fine books for five centuries” 
Oxford University press published its first book in 1478, a commentary on the Apostles Creed. This is the Oxford “Arms” as they appear on the title page of that book. Through the centuries, branding for the press centered on the Seal of Saint Augustine—3 crowns and a book. 
Style varied widely since the Press’s imprints were printed from hand cut wood or lead carvings. When they wore out, they were recut, again by hand. Several thousand variations appear in the archives of the press. The Quincentenary brand mark was the first to reflect the modernist aesthetic. 
Oxford University, founded possibly as early as 1096CE, was chartered in 1248CE, making it most likely the second oldest continuously operating institution of higher learning (University of Bologna was chartered in 1158.) More about Oxford University Press History.