Penguin Random House's Logo Solution: Spell It Out

When Penguin and Random House joined forces last year, the publishers brought together 10,000 jobs, 250 independent imprints, and $3.7 billion in annual revenues. The merged publisher left vague how it would handle combining two very distinct logos with long-running literary traditions.

The solution announced on Tuesday is an elegant, inclusive, and understated two-part branding system. Rather than choosing either a previous logo or trying to come up with something new, Penguin Random House will exist as a wordmark spelling out the company’s name—think Coca-Cola or GE—that can sit alongside the sigils of the mega-publisher’s vast array of imprints. It’s a nod to the diversity within the publishing behemoth that still projects a singular strength as the world’s largest publisher of consumer books.