High Reading Standards
BRANDING
A book blog for thirty-somethings who are tired of doom-scrolling and ready to lose themselves in the kind of stories that feel like a warm velvet armchair in a candlelit library. Whether you’re a former bookworm reclaiming your title or someone who just wants something richer than the algorithm, this space is your invitation to slow down, fall in love again (with fiction, mostly), and rediscover the joy of imagination.
Reading should be fun, indulgent, and entirely yours again.
Inspired by the dust motes of antique libraries, whispered secrets between well-worn pages, and one unforgettable grandmother who never skipped her nightly chapters, High Reading Standards is not your average BookTok roundup. Here, the romance is messy, the heroines have bite, and the prose matters. We believe in books that haunt you—in the best way possible—and writing that makes your phone screen feel like cheap plastic in comparison.
Think of us as your slightly snobby, well-read best friend who’s never afraid to roll her eyes at overhyped bestsellers or sing the praises of that underrated paperback from 1997. With a tone that’s equal parts elegant and irreverent, this blog celebrates literary escapism with taste, sass, and the occasional martini.
Process
Conversation Starter
Initially, when my client asked me to create this brand, we ended up talking about BookTok for hours—what was wrong with it, what worked, and what truly stood out. After that conversation, Instagram was top of mind for me. I created these initial logos for her.
Make it Personal
But something didn’t sit right with either of us—it lacked the romance and nostalgia we were aiming for. The whole reason my client began reading again, and ultimately created her blog, was to step away from her phone and rediscover the feeling of being swept away by books. As we talked more, she shared that it was her grandmother who first introduced her to the joy and love of reading. From that conversation, the idea of a crest was born—one that subtly includes her grandmother’s favorite flower: the bleeding heart.
Find the Right Vibe
We ultimately landed on a beautiful, classical library aesthetic—something that feels almost collegiate and just the right amount of dusty. After all, no one wants to sit in a sterile, uninviting library with no warmth, no dust, and no well-loved, torn pages. There’s charm in the imperfections, and that’s exactly what we wanted to capture.
