We were delighted to work with Kate at Studium Progressive Learning to create a strong brand for her new business and to design and print a selection of perfect bound English revision/test books designed to help 9 to 10 year-old students in preparation for their 11+ exam.
About Studium Learning
Studium Learning was set up a number of years ago by teacher Kate Fontaine.
The company offers bespoke online tutoring services for young people who may be aiming for high grades, preparing for exams, or wanting to build on their academic skills.
Their tutors are all self-employed, and Kate decided to supplement these services with some learning resources for 11+ students in the form of three books, which include progressively more challenging tests.
Further 11+ books are planned, and the businesses also recently started branching out into adult education resources.
The Requirements
Once the initial three learning books had been written, Kate needed them to be suitably designed, so that they were engaging and easy-to-use and then printed. She also needed a logo to be created for the company.
“Three learning books had been written, of about 80 pages each in length, and we needed some design creating for them,” Kate explained.
“I was already in communication with Paul from Life about something else when I mentioned this project, and he said that they can do it, and they put it all together for me.
“I didn’t realise that Life could do design and print, as well as publishing, so our paths ended up crossing on this project. The designer Michael was the perfect person for it.”
The Activity
The first place to start was the new logo, and it helped that Kate had a strong idea about what identity she wanted for Studium Learning.
“I knew I wanted a quill-themed logo, so Michael did about 16 designs for us to look at initially, which were fantastic. I like dark reds and green colours, to keep with the Elizabethan themes that we had, and so we worked on it together in terms of trying different fonts and sizes.”
Once the final logo was confirmed, the next stage was applying that design to the learning books.
“Michael was really hands-on with the process,” said Kate. “He designed all the formatting and applied the design to it. I just sent him a word doc with all the text in it and he did everything else.
“He also provided general advice about publishing which we would not have thought about, such as sorting out the ISBN numbers for us. It was really professional advice within the standard remit of a publisher.”
Outcomes and Results
Studium Learning now has a new logo and three professionally printed books that students can effectively use as learning resources.
I am absolutely delighted with the books,” said Kate. “They look really professional and incredibly well-designed. But more than that, the books are very appealing to the students – they are very comfortable and easy-to-use.”
“The quality of the print was exceptional as well. Michael advised us of the correct size we would need, and it was just right.”
The experience that Kate has had means she would not use any other supplier for print and design, and it’s the quality of the customer service she has experienced with Life as much as the technical expertise that has impressed her so much.
“Michael has done everything, and really gone above and beyond what was needed, and really enabled my book to be listed with Gardners and stocked by Waterstones,” she explained. “He also connected us with other booksellers.
I wouldn’t go to anyone else now! I would totally recommend Life.”
“Michael remembers things and makes sure that he gets back to you, even when he has been really busy. It’s great customer service, which is so important.”
View from the Designer
Michael explained how this project was effectively in two parts: the creation of a logo based on a prescriptive brief provided by Kate, and then the design of the three books.
“Kate didn’t have a logo, but did have a strong idea of what she wanted,” he said. “So, we applied a number of variations, and different fonts, to give her different ideas of what worked and then she was able to make her preferred selection.
“Once we had that we moved onto the books. Kate wanted the books to appeal to a certain age group, so that was a factor when creating the look for them, making them very engaging.”
When it came to the publishing aspect, it was fairly new territory for Life, but Michael was determined to ensure the process went well, including personally registering the details to secure the vital ISBN numbers.
“It was a bit of a learning curve for us and required a bit of research, but I enjoyed it,” said Michael.
“It has added another string to our box, and it means that Kate can now sell her books via any outlet. It’s something that we can do for other clients now as well.”
