Emma Kaniuk finds the perfect metaphor for books without a home

Sometimes the best ideas arrive when you’re not looking for them. Emma Kaniuk was driving home from the studio when she spotted a detached semi-truck trailer sitting by the roadside – just waiting there, a vessel without contents, a temporary and unconventional home. That idle moment sparked the breakthrough that would define Homeward Books’ entire identity. The brief was beautifully simple: create a brand for ‘books without a home.’ This small press exists as pushback against publishing’s algorithmic obsession, championing the weird, brave stories that fall between genres and get rejected for being too difficult to categorise. Four editors and writers founded Homeward after realising most books they loved wouldn’t get published today – not because they’re bad, but because they’re hard to sell. “Instead of traditional mood boards or external visual research, I started by sitting quietly with Homeward’s guiding principle,” Kaniuk explains. “I wanted the brand concept to emerge intuitively, mirroring the way Homeward trusts its own intuition to select works for publication.” That roadside trailer triggered a train of thought about homes as vessels, spaces that aren’t typically considered homes... which led straight to the hermit crab. Here’s where things get perfect. Hermit crabs are social creatures with soft, asymmetrical bodies that need external protection. They find shells – or shell-like objects – selecting whatever fits perfectly at that moment. They’re creative with their choices, donning bottle caps, colourful plastic, glass fragments. Tough exteriors protecting vulnerable interiors, constantly adapting, carrying their homes wherever they go. “These adventurous animals carry their homes on their backs all across the ocean,” the Homeward team explains. “They start out little but grow and grow until they need to find a new home and leave their old one for another growing crab to take. They embody everything we think a story should be.” The metaphor became the foundation for something much more sophisticated than a simple logo. Kaniuk engineered the primary shell – based on a Giant Turban – to double as both brand mark and comma, integrating directly into the typography. It’s brilliant: the comma signals a story about to unfold, while the shell provides the protection every homeless book needs.