Biblioteca David Kitson

At the heart of our community lies the Biblioteca David Kitson, a haven that goes beyond being just a library—it's a full-service embrace of connection and knowledge.

This library has held a special part of this community ever since I was a little girl, it's where I participated in art activities, typing classes, it's where I found books for school and for fun, it's where I volunteered when I was in high-school, and taught English classes when an extra hand was needed. This goes to say that when the library board approached me to lead the brand design efforts, it was an honor for me to take on the project.

Crafting the Biblioteca David Kitson Brand

I'm thrilled to take you through the visual narrative we've carefully crafted for our library's rebranding journey. My role was to infuse the spirit and aspirations of our wonderful community into every design element, from a fresh and captivating logo to thoughtfully selected color schemes and eye-catching promotional materials.

To kick-off the project, we conducted a brand audit of the preexisting brand materials. We concluded that:

There was some confusion surrounding the old Library logo.
The logos were outdated and not reflective of the Library's new mission & vision.
There were no supporting brand elements such as colors, fonts, etc.

This pretty much gave us a clean sheet to work on!

Turning to the Chapter on Modernity

For the logotype I explored elements of the name, initials, monograms, illustrative elements of the library, all in a modern, clean and approachable vibe. The color palette we designed is sober and simple. Sticking to limited tones, primarily black, parchement, and blue. Finally, in an attempt to appeal to the many generations and population groups the Library brings together, we tried to keep the art direction clean and simple.

Taking the previous direction, along with the brand values we identified in the process, I crafted visual and verbal moodboards to start to build our brand identity.

Community-centric • Accessible • Inspiring • Educational • Supportive • Welcoming • Inclusive

In Memoriam

In December of 1993, David Kitson's dream came true. He retired to Nosara with his wife Beverly and began to work on the many projects that he had dreamed of for so many years. But it was not to be. Within six months he was diagnosed with an incurable cancer and was gone by March of 1995. The David Kitson Memorial Library (Biblioteca David Kitson) was established in his memory and carries on much of the work that Dave would have done himself if he had just been given the time.

For many years, the library was housed in a small space in downtown Nosara. In 2005, enough money had been set aside to begin construction on a building designed especially for the library by Jim Wall under the auspices of Brenda Alí Esquivel’s Arquitectural firm in Nicoya. In August of that year the library moved into their spacious new building.

The Iconic Façade

The Biblioteca David Kitson building is warm and inviting, the façade is so recognizable within the community that we decided to pay tribute to it within the brand logomark. I carefully illustrated the façade icon by keeping the essential elements in a clean, modern style. In line with the illustration of the façade, we created a clean and modern logotype, and supporting monogram. The resulting brand identity is clean, modern, and fresh, yet retains the original warmth and welcoming nature of the library.

It was an honor to uncover a new chapter for our library—one that seamlessly blends aesthetics with functionality to create a welcoming and vibrant brand that truly reflects the diverse interests and needs of this cherished space.

The David Kitson Memorial Library (Biblioteca David Kitson) was established in his memory and carries on much of the work that Dave would have done himself if he had just been given the time.