Fifty years on from its founding in San Francisco, city institution Stout Books has unveiled a new identity, which champions the bricks-and-mortar store, courtesy of Jony Ive and Marc Newson’s LoveFrom studio.

The bookstore, which was acquired by the Eames Institute of Infinite Curiosity in 2022, when founder Bill Stout retired, is a beloved destination for fans of architecture and design alike. (The EIIC is an independent public charity dedicated to advancing the legacy of designers Ray and Charles Eames and has also acquired Stout’s personal library.)

LoveFrom, which is also based in Jackson Square, the same area of the city as Stout Books, designed the new visual identity with the aim of translating the character of the physical store into the digital age.

Custom sans serif typeface LF Washington (a modified version of Russell Bean’s Washington from 1970) sits at the heart of the new work. Inspired by the bookstore’s famous enamel signage, the new typeface is elegant and eye-catching enough to ensure a distinctive ‘Est. 1974’ also stands out.

The typeface is also paired with a series of charming illustrations by Satoshi Hashimoto that bring the store to life online: the Stout Books homepage changes with the season while Hashimoto also created a handful of portraits of Stout himself, with familiar beard and round glasses.

The new identity arrives at the same time as the announcement of Ive and LoveFrom’s collaboration with OpenAI, yet the Stout Books project was rooted in the analogue, with the LoveFrom team able to explore Stout’s archive of catalogues, maps, gift cards and stationery.

“I discovered Stout Books on my first visit to San Francisco back in 1989,” Ive says. “I have such a deep affection for this bookshop and the extraordinary community that Bill lovingly created over five decades. It has been an honour to be able to make a contribution to an institution we love and value so profoundly.”

stoutbooks.com, lovefrom.com