LCFLS Brand Identity

Public libraries are community anchors, but without a unified identity, it can be hard for their mission to stand out. Before this project, the Lawrence County Federated Library System had no shared logo, style guide, or visual system connecting its three libraries and Bookmobile.

We set out to create a cohesive brand identity that reflects the county’s history, values, and community spirit, while also laying the groundwork for future digital tools like a unified website and mobile app.

via Rutgers MBS Externship Program

The MBS Externship Program

The Project

During my time in the Rutgers Externship Exchange Program, I had the opportunity to work with the Lawrence County Federated Library System (LCFLS), a network of three libraries and a Bookmobile serving 85,000 residents in rural Pennsylvania. This externship allowed me to apply my UX and branding skills in a real-world setting, collaborating closely with a cross-disciplinary team and library stakeholders.

This project gave me hands-on experience in brand identity design, including research, logo exploration, color palette development, typography systems, and messaging. I worked with tools such as Adobe Illustrator, InDesign, Canva, and Google Drive to help build a cohesive visual identity that reflects the region’s history, values, and community needs.

I also gained experience gathering and synthesizing stakeholder feedback, presenting design decisions, and ensuring that every deliverable aligned with accessibility, inclusivity, and long-term digital goals for a future website and mobile app. This externship strengthened my ability to collaborate, lead iterations, and bring mission-driven design to life.

I worked on the Lawrence County Federated Library System (LCFLS) Brand Identity Project, a system-wide initiative to unite three independent libraries and a Bookmobile under one cohesive visual identity. Before this project, LC FLS lacked a shared logo, style guide, or visual system, making it difficult to maintain consistency across signage, print materials, and future digital tools.

The goal of the project was meaningful and community-focused:
Create a brand system that reflects the county’s history, values, and people, while laying the foundation for future digital growth, like a unified website and app.

Most of my work centered on supporting the creation of this new brand identity by:

Researching local history and cultural symbols
Helping brainstorm and sketch early logo concepts
Shaping the visual direction through color palettes, typography, and messaging
Designing print and digital mockups in both Canva and Adobe
Assisting in the development of the final style guide and assets

Our focus was to ensure the new identity felt welcoming, accessible, and accurate to the community, while also being structured enough to support long-term consistency across every library branch.

My Role

My role combined UX, branding, and collaborative design.

Some of the tools and skills I used included:

Canva & Adobe Illustrator / InDesign (for logo exploration, visual mockups, print + digital asset design)

Figma (for refining layout ideas and organizing style guide components)

Google Drive (for organizing research, documentation, and team deliverables)

Brand Strategy & UX Thinking (shaping tone, typography hierarchy, visual systems, and ensuring accessibility)

Collaboration & Feedback Loops (presenting concepts, gathering stakeholder input, iterating weekly)

I also spent time thinking through how the brand identity would extend to future digital products, such as a unified website and mobile app, ensuring consistency, accessibility, and a clear design foundation that the libraries could grow with.

Here are my Key Contributions

Key Contributions

Brand Research & Discovery –

I supported the early research phase by gathering insights on Lawrence County’s history, local symbols, community values, and stakeholder needs. This groundwork helped our team identify themes of accessibility, unity, and heritage that shaped the entire brand direction.

Impact: Our research clarified what truly mattered to the community, giving us a strong foundation for creating a brand identity that felt authentic, welcoming, and rooted in place.

Logo Concepting & Visual Exploration –

I assisted with brainstorming, sketching, and refining logo concepts that incorporated courthouse architecture, books, and agricultural symbols. I helped evaluate which elements best represented the system’s mission and values.

Impact: The final seal and logo successfully blended history with modern clarity, giving LCFLS a recognizable and meaningful identity that connects all three libraries and the Bookmobile.

Tone, Typography & Color Development –

I contributed to shaping the brand’s tone of voice and selecting typefaces and color palettes inspired by the county flag and traditional library aesthetics. The goal was to signal warmth, trust, and educational purpose.

Impact: The finalized visual system created a cohesive experience across digital and print channels, giving LCFLS a professional, unified look for the first time.

Print & Digital Mockups –

Using Canva and Adobe tools, I designed mockups for business cards, rack cards, style guide sections, and promotional materials. I also helped create the layout for the Bookmobile brochure.

Impact: These mockups made the brand feel real and actionable, helping stakeholders visualize how the identity would show up in daily library operations.

Style Guide Drafting & System Building –

I contributed to writing, organizing, and refining the final style guide, including logo usage rules, color ratios, typography hierarchy, and brand applications for social media and print.

Impact: The guide set a clear foundation for the future website, mobile app, and consistent communication across all branches of the library system.

Takeaways

My externship with the Lawrence County Federated Library System (LCFLS) was one of the first projects I worked on, helping build a complete brand identity from the ground up. It showed me how meaningful design becomes when it reflects real people, real history, and a real community. I learned how to translate research into visual storytelling, shaping colors, typography, and symbols that honor the county’s heritage while also feeling modern, welcoming, and accessible.

Throughout the project, I strengthened hands-on skills in brand development, visual design, stakeholder collaboration, and style-guide creation. Working with a cross-disciplinary team taught me how to communicate design decisions clearly, iterate quickly, and gather feedback that helped shape every detail, from logo sketches to final print materials. It also deepened my understanding of how consistency, accessibility, and symbolism work together to create a unified brand experience.

One of the biggest lessons I took away was the importance of designing for diverse audiences: families, seniors, young readers, rural communities, and longtime library patrons. Creating a system that felt both inclusive and rooted in local identity made me appreciate the power of design in connecting people to community resources. Seeing our work evolve from ideas into fundamental tools, social templates, brochures, a bookmobile pamphlet, and a complete style guide was incredibly rewarding and reaffirmed why I love mission-driven design.

If you liked what you saw and want to chat, I’d love to hear from you!