branding + identity
sehnsucht
n. "the inconsolable longing in the human heart for we know not what"; yearning for a far, familiar, non-earthly land one can identify as one's home.
Sehnsucht Books is a haven for book lovers; it provides a space for exploration and contemplation. Each page turned becomes a pathway.
You are encouraged to get lost.
The logotype is a revival of an unknown, non-digitized face found in the book Dutch Type by Jan Middendorp. Its tall, condensed forms are reminiscent of tree trunks and the spines of books tucked in shelves.
I envisioned Sehnsucht Books to be a safe, but strange and mysterious place where you enter with a bit of hesitance then be overwhelmed with a sense of contentment. The air about the bookstore would feel almost like home, but not so at the same time.
Overall, Sehnsucht Books is an interpretation of what I feel when wanting to escape. I find solace in reading; it lets my mind ease and wander elsewhere. I often compare the feeling to what it may be like following a path in a forest with no particular destination, just the quiet and one's musings.
I found inspiration in moody and solemn photographs that felt distant but still somehow warm and hopeful. I wanted to establish a sense of aloneness that exuded a quiet form of strength and independence.
