The Cujas Library is a library specialized in law, economics and political science. It is the heir to the library of the Law School of the University of Paris, whose origins date back to 1475. Since 1979, it has been the subject of an agreement between the Universities of Panthéon-Sorbonne and Panthéon-Assas and today bears the name of Jacques Cujas, a great thinker of 16th century legal humanism. It is located at 2 rue Cujas in the 5th arrondissement of Paris, in the heart of the Latin Quarter and only a few meters from the Pantheon.

With its 40,000 volumes, the Cujas Library is the first legal library in Europe and the largest in the world for French law. The Cujas Library is therefore more than just a library, it is a monument, a reference and even in a way the temple of legal knowledge in France.

While preserving its heritage and identity, the Cujas Library needed to modernize its image in order to better respond to current communication issues. Graphéine thus accompanied the library in the development of its new visual identity and its new graphic charter.

The previous logo [Cujas written in handwriting] was quite restrictive because the graphic charter called for a 45° angle.  The Library wanted a new logo that was more functional, but also more modern and dynamic, that respected its values and history, but also embodied its new ambitions.

We therefore proposed the creation of an acronym that would represent the library and truly define it as the temple of knowledge.

This acronym is made up of three components: the symbol of law through the courthouse, the symbol of the library through a row of books, and finally a representation of the Cujas library through the rounded glass roof so characteristic of its large reading room. 

The principle of composition is inspired by the logo. It invites to create and play with blocks of colors like rows or stacks of books. The result is an extremely simple, dynamic and modular graphic system.

It is possible to insert photos between different books, or to use the same books to draw shapes and patterns.

See more : https://www.grapheine.com/en/portfolio/cujas-law-library-visual-identity