ColorPop Books

Developing a new product brand to inspire children and create a new source of funding for classroom requests.

Service

Capabilities

Background

DonorsChoose is a nonprofit crowd-funding platform that makes it easy for anyone to help a teacher in need. With about 86% of public schools in America participating, donors like you and me find a classroom project that inspires us and give as little as $1.

A joyful family sits together on a sofa, dressed in matching white shirts. The adults and children read colorful books while smiling and engaging with one another. The scene reflects a warm, light-hearted moment of shared activity and togetherness.

The challenge

DonorsChoose was launching a new product to address a pressing parent need and create a new source of funding for classrooms. This one-of-a-kind bookshop would specialize in kid-affirming, representative book bundles, and center on the Black and Brown family experience. Each purchase would help fund books for historically underfunded public schools across the country via DonorsChoose projects.

A series of Instagram posts by ColorPop Books. The first image welcomes users, the second shows a child with a book bundle, the third introduces Indigenous Stories Bundle, and the fourth celebrates Pride Month with text, "4 Kids Books that Celebrate Pride Stories.

The opportunity

DonorsChoose’s bookshop recognized the importance of kids seeing themselves in the books they read. In 2022, only 39% of children’s books featured at least one BIMPOC character. Drawing upon the expertise of teachers and their knowledge of childhood learning, DonorsChoose responded by creating ColorPop Books—a bookstore designed to fill this gap. ColorPop Books aims to tell undertold stories, build representative bookshelves at home, and continue to support kids without access to identity-affirming books with resources that build confidence and empathy

A rectangular book cover titled "Color Pop Books" on a red background. The cover is brown with white illustrations, including a book, cloud, question mark, foot, hand, and other abstract shapes. The illustrations surround the title in a playful pattern.

Hands holding open a children's book with colorful illustrations on a round, white marble table. Beside the book is a brown box with white graphics labeled "COCO BOX BOOKS," and several other children's books with vibrant covers are resting on the table.

A young child with curly hair, wearing a colorful striped shirt, sits on a beige couch with yellow and white pillows, smiling and reading a large book. The setting is bright and cheerful.

Two adults interact with a small child who is standing. One adult, seated on the floor, holds a mirror for the child, who is reaching towards it and smiling. The second adult, wearing glasses, sits on the couch and smiles, extending their hands towards the child.

A neatly organized shelf with plants and books. The middle shelf holds a brown cardboard box labeled "Color Pop Books" with various white icons. The top shelf has a stack of magazines, a white decorative object, and colorful cards. A green plant is on the lower shelf beside the box.

“Hyperakt has a very human approach and is great at incorporating feedback. Every person on the team is fantastic.”

Abigail Feuer

EVP, Strategy & Innovation at DonorsChoose

A cardboard box is opened to reveal colorful wrapping paper with an abstract design. The design features hands in various shades of brown and tan, forming spiral shapes with hearts, and blue lines radiating outward. A round pink sticker reads "COLOR POP BOOKS.

A name as bright as its stories

We explored a wide range of names for this new bookshop – with 12 different naming territories. One name fell away from the rest: ColorPop Books, with its representative stories that bring a BURST of color to a child’s perception of the world, and help families navigate a colorful and complex world together. The name evokes excitement, surprise, energy, momentum, and creativity.

Bright blue background with stylized cloud shapes featuring the bold white text "COLOR POP BOOKS" in the center. The text is in a playful, rounded font.

“Hyperakt has been a wonderful thought partner, and the guidance and structure they provided through the development of our brand's design system has been invaluable for the creation of ColorPop Books.”

Lindsay Karchin

Marketing Lead, Strategy & Innovation at DonorsChoose

A grid of 20 squares, each showcasing a colorful background with a red circle in the center. Inside each red circle, the text "COLOR POP BOOKS" is written in white. The background colors include shades of pink, yellow, green, blue, and purple.

A visual identity designed to burst

ColorPop’s visual identity captures the fun, inclusivity and dynamism of reading. The colors are cheerful and vibrant. The photography captures authentic joy. The illustrations are organic and evocative. Together, ColorPop’s visual identity is exciting, welcoming and affirming – just like the books.