Faber

The Next Chapter

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From a history-centred house to a perennial icon of independent publishing.

Engagement

2020-2022

Awards

The Good Web Guide Award for Arts & Culture 2022

The Challenge

A long-time publisher of laureates and a passionate preserver of print, Faber has been championing the people at the heart of publishing since 1929. 

But in a market disrupted by behemoths like Amazon, Faber needed a new age transformation, taking them from a heritage-soaked establishment to the zeitgeist’s go-to library and, through Faber Academy, the mentor of the canon’s next generation.

The house’s history – though an essential part of their founding spirit – presented an exercise in balance. Between heritage and relevance, brand and conversion. 

Honouring Heritage & Community

Well-written books are difficult to put down. To capture a similar quality, our objective was to design sites so engaging users never wanted to close the tab. 

We did that by harmonising the house’s incredible heritage with a modern look, with UX that highlighted the community so integral to the brand experience. Emphasising critic’s reviews, personalised recommendations and a complete overhaul of dedicated author pages. 

From Sylvia Plath to Samuel Beckett to Sally Rooney, devoting significant site space to breathing life into the stories of famed writers was essential to balancing Faber’s historical influence, their high contemporary standing and their future trajectory.

Escapism & The User Experience

By centering content and storytelling, we catered to the increasing consumer need for additional value – a trajectory we needed to map onto in order to relaunch the brand’s DTC sales. 

We architected an elevated membership offering whilst preserving the quality of all-access content, amplifying both across all pages, and built out PLPs to cement Faber’s position as a retailer (rather than simply a recommendations platform) – one stood in opposition to industry giants as an authentic, independent publisher.

Faber Academy: Inspiring The Next Generation

Publishing literary greats is no easy task. Yet Faber is set on finding and nurturing emerging talent through their Academy. With nearly 50 courses, browsability and discoverability was essential. We enhanced the site’s search capabilities, integrating precise filters, labels and personalisation ensuring a clean sign up flow for aspiring writers.