Final Major Project

Project Proposal

Assignment Title: CLSX Publishing (Working Tile)

I am proposing that a new publisher is to be set up as a join venture between central government, the Department of Children, Schools and Families, and Penguin Books. The Publisher’s, called CLSX (Classics in ‘chatspeak’) remit is to promote the reading of classic literature to young adults (14-25).

There have been many other ‘initiatives promoting reading and literacy amongst young people, what is going to distinguish this new approach from these will be it’s commercial nature and it’s focus on classic literature instead of new ‘contemporary’ writing.

The concept is that whilst the DCSF’s can have a direct influence of young children and young adults up to 18 it has no remit to continue the promotion of literacy beyond this point. By working with a partner, such as Penguin Books, a cohesive strategy can be developed to promote reading, and in particular the reading of classic literature, to this wider age group.

The problem that any government ‘initiative’ has traditionally had is that they always look like ‘initiatives’ and take a slightly ‘preachy’ approach. CLSX will not look like an ‘initiative’ and will be marketed in the same way as any other commercial publisher. The aim is to use the commercial reputation and expertise of Penguin to maximise the impact of the monies from central and European funds.

The publisher will be run on a charitable basis, with all profits being re-invested within the company (to avoid any accusations of Penguin profiting from government funding). Penguin Books will benefit not only from the kudos of working on this project but also by the increase it it’s profile and reputation and also through the cross sales of it’s ‘for profit’ titles’.

There have been many reading initiatives aimed at promoting literacy amongst younger readers, the latest of which is called ProjectX from Oxford University Press (http://www.oup.com/oxed/primary/projectx/index.html), but this, as well as being aimed at a younger audience, is again focused on tailored new writing rather than classic literature.

I feel that we are in danger of allowing whole generations to loose touch with their literary heritage, and instead of ‘dumbing down’ we should be actively promoting the great writers and encouraging new readers to discover these classics (hence the brand line, ‘They’re Classics for a reason’, this will be developed into ‘They’re CLSX for a reason” once the brand associations have been established).

It is said that there are only 7 universal story-lines and that all literature is based on one or more of these. These story-lines are:

1. Overcoming the monster
defeating some force which threatens…
e.g. most Hollywood movies; Star Wars, James Bond.

2. The Quest
typically a group setoff in search of something and (usually) find it.
e.g. Watership Down, Pilgrim’s Progress.

3. Journey and Return
the hero journeys away from home to somewhere different and finally comes back having experienced something and maybe changed for the better.
e.g. Wizard of Oz, Gullivers Travels.

4. Comedy
not necessarily a funny plot. Some kind of misunderstanding or ignorance is created that keeps parties apart which is resolved towards the end bringing them back together.
e.g.Bridget Jones Diary, War and Peace.

5. Tragedy
Someone is tempted in some way, vanity, greed etc and becomes increasingly desperate or trapped by their actions until at a climax they usually die. Unless it’s a Hollywood movie, when they escape to a happy ending. e.g. Devils’ Advocate, Hamlet.

6. Rebirth
hero is captured or oppressed and seems to be in a state of living death until it seems all is lost when miraculously they are freed.
e.g. Snow White.

7. Rags to Riches
self explanatory really.
e.g. Cinderella & derivatives.

(Taken from Christopher Booker, “Seven Basic Plots-why we tell stories” quoted on http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=210539)

If we accept this, then all literature is accessible and it is just a matter of presentation.

Outcomes

As the designer commissioned to develop and implement the brand and delivery systems I will be looking
at the following:

Brand/Logotype

The development of a unique brand, corporate branding (stationary, corporate fonts etc)

Product Development

Book jacket design, Audio book designs, sub-brands (American CLSX, Victorian CLSX etc), book typography (how can we use typography to improve the reader experience) digital page layout and typography (pdf layout and typography, layout for on-line reading and digital books), book jacket/folders to house downloaded books/chapters, Games packaging design

On-Line Development

Though not a web designer I will look at website design and layout and individual book portals, with particular reference to content and structure. These will be produced as flat visuals and site maps.

The main website will be an information, product listing and sales site.

The book portals are a major part of the reading strategy and will be a place where readers can immerse themselves in the events and issues that underpin the works, helping them see the works in context. They will include historical references, music of the era, clips from the audio books, games etc. These portals can be navigated using  a series of reference points marked throughout the books, or explored independently.

Point of Sale

POS posters, Shelf talkers, stickers display stands, window displays etc.

Advertising

There will be two types of advertising:

Corporate
Aimed at raising awareness of the overall brand and based around the line ‘They’re Classics for a reason’.

Specific/product advertising
This will be based around specific book ranges and offers. An example would be as the audio books will be read and indorsed by relevant celebrities they would be used to promote the individual book e.g Treasure Island read by Johnny Depp. There will be a range of press, outdoor, radio and on-line advertising used.

Marketing

There are a number of additional opportunities I want to explore to raise awareness of this youth based brand. These could include:

Viral Marketing

Game Development
Branding for platform specific games developed from our titles eg Treasure Island on the PS3, a game for the Nitendo DS based on Lord of the Flies etc.

MySpace, Bebo, Facebook groups and pages plus any  other Web2 opportunities that can be exploited.

 

Critical & Contextual Issues

As with any publisher environmental issues will be critical and the impact on the environment will be a key consideration when developing my brand. If I were to do this for real I would be looking at the sourcing of my paper and how this could be not only as green as possible, but also using this, if possible, as a marketing opportunity. An example of this would by publicising the fact that our books were printed on paper made using recycled (pulped) government document, playing on a creative use of red tape or something along those lines.

Contextually, the issues are simply how do we re-engage with young readers and how can we, without resorting to dumbing down or re-writing introduce classic world literature to a new generation. How do we make younger readers aware of classic literatures relevance in the 21st century, literally putting it in a 21st century context.

 

Research

There is a wealth of research into falling reading levels amongst young readers and initially I am conducting a review of this research to see how it can inform my strategy and I will include my finding in my journal that will accompany this project. 

My primary research will take the form of  a series of sector specific questionnaires aimed at building a clearer understanding of how key stakeholders perceive reading trends and their opinions of the key premises behind my project. I see the key stakeholders as; Educators, Youth Workers, Governmental bodies, Publishers etc.

 

Reading
As I have already stated I will be reviewing any research I can find on reading trends and specifically reading of classic literature. I will also look at established publishers branding and marketing and I will be reading anything that I feel can inform the design an implementation of this project.

Take my research survey