Creating B2B trade assets for Penguin Ventures

A new chapter

At Skew, we’re all about storytelling - so when Penguin Ventures approached us to help tell theirs through a new trade refresh, we were ready to dive right in. Penguin Ventures, the consumer products and experience team of Penguin Random House Children’s UK, manages an iconic literary portfolio including The World of Peter Rabbit™, The World of the Snowman™, The World of Eric Carle™, Spot, The Flower Fairies™ and Tom Fletcher’s: Who’s In Your Book. We were asked to develop a suite of assets that could bring these characters together in a cohesive and visually appealing way across various B2B applications. We needed to deliver PowerPoint templates, trade ads, a key trade show stand image, and a sizzle video. Bringing all these elements together and creating a cohesive visual language will help Penguin Ventures showcase their beloved brands in a B2B setting.

Bringing together a stellar cast of characters

The main challenge was getting all these distinct literary worlds to sit comfortably together visually. Each property came with its own unique identity, visual language, and brand guidelines. For example, The Very Hungry Caterpillar couldn’t be rotated or altered in any way. Meanwhile, Peter Rabbit had his own soft, classic aesthetic, while The Snowman brought in its own distinctive illustrative style. We also had to keep everything consistent with the Penguin Ventures master brand, represented by its iconic black, white, and orange colour scheme.

Building blocks of a great story

Our design solution was to create a modular system - think building blocks, each one representing a different property, but fitting together to create a vibrant and playful visual narrative. This approach allowed the various characters and brands to shine individually while still working harmoniously within the larger Penguin Ventures story. The bold colours and adaptable format gave us the flexibility to create stand-out designs for everything from conference stands to multi-brand PowerPoint templates.

Diving into different worlds

Textures played a key role too, helping us create a sense of world-building. By adding layers to the designs, we helped bring the idea of ‘entering the world’ of these characters to life. Whether it’s stepping into The World of Peter Rabbit or adventuring with The Very Hungry Caterpillar, we wanted every visual to feel like an invitation into a different storybook universe.

A real page turner

In the end, we delivered a suite of assets that not only respected the individual charm of each property but also presented Penguin Ventures as a unified, dynamic force in the B2B space. The finished designs were like a well-loved library—full of variety, but with each piece playing its part in the larger Penguin Ventures narrative.

“Our brands are full of such colour and texture, but are all quite different, so bringing them together in one cohesive and dynamic look was always going to be a challenge. We explored a number of ideas with Skew and are really pleased with the end result."
Tom Merrington, Creative Director at Penguin Ventures. ""

Time for something Skew?

Need a cohesive set of B2B assets that showcases your brand's story across different platforms? Get in touch with us or check out our Guideline Services to find out how we can help create a tailored suite of designs that brings your brand to life in any business setting.