At the end of 2014, one of my best friends invited me to take charge of the branding and communication for the bookstore bar he had just opened in Dallas. I had been involved in the project from its inception, primarily consulting on the brand and designing what would, over time, become its graphic identity. However, this was a different opportunity entirely; a chance to direct the brand's evolution and oversee every touchpoint moving forward. It was no doubt, a very enticing proposition for somebody with my background.
Over time, I found myself running the day-to-day operations of the bookstore side of the business, yet I couldn't be prouder of what we were able to accomplished in terms of branding and communication; despite our small size, we were invited to give a TEDx Talk, we published a book about the love of reading, we've been featured on global news outlets such as The Guardian or The New York Times, and, as a client, we earned a Bronze Cannes Lion and a Facebook award in 2017 with a delightful pro-bono campaign by Dieste.
TEDx TALK
In 2017, we were invited by UTA Dallas to give a talk as part of their TEDx program. This was a great opportunity for me to distill the last three years of thinking behind our brand’s development and crystallize it into a concise 10 minute plus presentation, which Javier, the owner, delivered.
READING QUIRKS
I also had the opportunity to write and art-direct a comic strip. In September 2016, with the collaboration of our illustrator friend Laura Pacheco, we launched a series of cartoons for social media about all the quirky things we readers do. For 72 weeks straight, we diligently posted every Wednesday. Little did we know that this fun little content project would evolve into published books in Spain and the U.S.
BIBLIOMANÍAS
We got publishing deals in Spain and the U.S. for a compilation of our cartoons. The Spanish edition, titled Bibliomanías, was released in January 2019. That winter, I joined Laura Pacheco for a mini-presentation tour in Spain and was later invited to present it at the FIL (International Book Fair) in Guadalajara, Mexico, the following fall. The book was chosen by ElDiario.es as one of the recommended readings for 2019.
US EDITION
The American edition was released in December 2019, and we presented it remotely – the pandemic had just started – at bookstores and libraries across Texas and throughout the country. Check the review The Dallas Morning News did about the book.
BRAND
At SXSW, 2014, I had heard designer, artist and thinker John Maeda say that brands were not about the way they looked but about the way they were experienced. “Logotypes are just a haircut”, he remarked. When designing The Wild Detectives' brand I aimed to ensure that every touchpoint conveyed the story we wanted to tell: that reading – and by extension the arts in general– weren't aspirational, but approachable.
GRAPHIC IDENTITY
The two main thoughts going into designing The Wild Detectives' identity were, how to keep a sense of place while making it simple enough to be versatile and iconic.
SIGNAGE AND DISPLAY
One of my favorite designs for the bookstore was the display table – a modular solution for showcasing new releases and bookstore recommendations. Also, I'm particularly proud of the laser-engraved signage we produced, as it's one of the touchpoints where the brand's wit shines stronger.
IN-STORE COMMUNICATION
We approached POS communication as an extension of our brand experience. Ours didn’t shy away from sparking micro-conversations – whether it was through 'detective' files on books or by tapping into zeitgeist and pop culture.
MENU
The idea of micro-conversations also inspired our menu, featuring cartoons set in the store that illustrated item-related quotes. This menu marked our first collaboration with illustrator Laura Pacheco, who later became a frequent collaborator with the store and the co-author of Reading Quirks.
WEBSITE
We wanted our website to evoke the feeling of being printed on paper. To achieve this, we employed strong editorial design strategies and a scroll-split navigation system that mimics the two-panel layout of a book.
CAMPAIGNS
What keeps a bookstore alive and relevant to its local community are the initiatives it runs to stay engaging and interesting. Communicating those initiatives becomes almost as important to shape the perception of the bookstore, as the initiatives themselves.
TALK TO A STRANGER
We always envisioned The Wild Detectives as a place that fostered meaningful conversations and human interaction. So we put our money where our mouth was.
#WILDQUOTEZ
As part of our content strategy, we regularly shared highly stylized quotes using the hashtag #WildQuotez.
GIVE WITH EXPECTATIONS
Giving without expecting anything in return is great and all, but let’s be honest; deep down, we all want to be rewarded. Definitely not your typical Christmas campaign.
EVENTS
During my tenure at The Wild Detectives we hosted and promoted over 700 events, from book presentations, to music shows and plays, among others.
SHOWS
To promote special events such as music shows, literary festivals, screenings, and parties, I designed occasion-specific posters. For some projects, I even extended the idea into animated videos to maximize engagement.
WILD BEATS
As The Wild Detectives was becoming a local staple, its anniversary celebrations in the spring became full-on one day music festivals, which we called Wild Beats.
CONCERTS
We were fortunate to host some high profile performances by artists such as Bill Callahan, Damien Jurado, Robyn Hitchcock, Lloyd Cole or Dayna Kurtz. For shows like those, we would dress up our little stage in the backyard and document select songs to make for great social content.
WOMEN GALORE
This festival, held for three consecutive years (2016–2018), featured a series of events celebrating female voices and the work they created.
WILD BOOKS
If you run a bookstore and want it to remain relevant as a vibrant cultural public space, the events, initiatives, and recommendations can quickly pile up. It soon became clear to us that we needed a format to connect with our audience and highlight the books and events we needed in a more engaging way. We introduced the figure of 'Reader in Residence' and Wild Books, a monthly video with our bookstore top highlights. Newsletters are fine, but a charismatic person on screen can go much further.
After more than 10 years, The Wild Detectives is as active as ever. If you're ever around Bishop Arts District in Dallas, go get a book; there's a chance the drink will be on the house.
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