diff --git a/oslo_serialization/serializer/__init__.py b/oslo_serialization/serializer/__init__.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e69de29
diff --git a/oslo_serialization/serializer/base_serializer.py b/oslo_serialization/serializer/base_serializer.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..bbc3fac
--- /dev/null
+++ b/oslo_serialization/serializer/base_serializer.py
@@ -0,0 +1,58 @@
+#    Copyright 2016 Mirantis, Inc.
+#
+#    Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License"); you may
+#    not use this file except in compliance with the License. You may obtain
+#    a copy of the License at
+#
+#         http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+#
+#    Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+#    distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT
+#    WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied. See the
+#    License for the specific language governing permissions and limitations
+#    under the License.
+
+"""
+Unified and simplified API for oslo.serialization's serializers.
+"""
+
+
+import abc
+import six
+
+
+@six.add_metaclass(abc.ABCMeta)
+class BaseSerializer(object):
+    """Generic (de-)serialization definition abstract base class."""
+
+    @abc.abstractmethod
+    def dump(self, obj, fp):
+        """Serialize ``obj`` as a stream to ``fp``.
+
+        :param obj: python object to be serialized
+        :param fp: ``.write()``-supporting file-like object
+        """
+
+    @abc.abstractmethod
+    def dump_as_bytes(self, obj):
+        """Serialize ``obj`` to a byte string.
+
+        :param obj: python object to be serialized
+        :returns: byte string
+        """
+
+    @abc.abstractmethod
+    def load(self, fp):
+        """Deserialize ``fp`` to a python object.
+
+        :param fp: ``.read()``-supporting file-like object
+        :returns: python object
+        """
+
+    @abc.abstractmethod
+    def load_from_bytes(self, s):
+        """Deserialize ``s`` to a python object.
+
+        :param s: byte string to be deserialized
+        :returns: python object
+        """
diff --git a/oslo_serialization/serializer/json_serializer.py b/oslo_serialization/serializer/json_serializer.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..daa4097
--- /dev/null
+++ b/oslo_serialization/serializer/json_serializer.py
@@ -0,0 +1,38 @@
+#    Copyright 2016 Mirantis, Inc.
+#
+#    Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License"); you may
+#    not use this file except in compliance with the License. You may obtain
+#    a copy of the License at
+#
+#         http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+#
+#    Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+#    distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT
+#    WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied. See the
+#    License for the specific language governing permissions and limitations
+#    under the License.
+
+
+from oslo_serialization import jsonutils
+from oslo_serialization.serializer.base_serializer import BaseSerializer
+
+
+class JSONSerializer(BaseSerializer):
+    """JSON serializer based on the jsonutils module."""
+
+    def __init__(self, default=jsonutils.to_primitive, encoding='utf-8'):
+        self._default = default
+        self._encoding = encoding
+
+    def dump(self, obj, fp):
+        return jsonutils.dump(obj, fp)
+
+    def dump_as_bytes(self, obj):
+        return jsonutils.dump_as_bytes(obj, default=self._default,
+                                       encoding=self._encoding)
+
+    def load(self, fp):
+        return jsonutils.load(fp, encoding=self._encoding)
+
+    def load_from_bytes(self, s):
+        return jsonutils.loads(s, encoding=self._encoding)
diff --git a/oslo_serialization/serializer/msgpack_serializer.py b/oslo_serialization/serializer/msgpack_serializer.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..1d51af3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/oslo_serialization/serializer/msgpack_serializer.py
@@ -0,0 +1,36 @@
+#    Copyright 2016 Mirantis, Inc.
+#
+#    Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License"); you may
+#    not use this file except in compliance with the License. You may obtain
+#    a copy of the License at
+#
+#         http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+#
+#    Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+#    distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT
+#    WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied. See the
+#    License for the specific language governing permissions and limitations
+#    under the License.
+
+
+from oslo_serialization import msgpackutils
+from oslo_serialization.serializer.base_serializer import BaseSerializer
+
+
+class MessagePackSerializer(BaseSerializer):
+    """MessagePack serializer based on the msgpackutils module."""
+
+    def __init__(self, registry=None):
+        self._registry = registry
+
+    def dump(self, obj, fp):
+        return msgpackutils.dump(obj, fp, registry=self._registry)
+
+    def dump_as_bytes(self, obj):
+        return msgpackutils.dumps(obj, registry=self._registry)
+
+    def load(self, fp):
+        return msgpackutils.load(fp, registry=self._registry)
+
+    def load_from_bytes(self, s):
+        return msgpackutils.loads(s, registry=self._registry)