I’m a book whore. Offer me a free book, and I’m all yours (yes, I’m that easy). So when received an email a while back asking if I’d be interested in a copy of a new book on logo design, it didn’t take me long to say yes.
The book, Design Matters // Logos, from Rockport Publishers arrived a couple of weeks ago. Knowing I’d need some reading material for an upcoming holiday, I held off cracking the covers. I’m glad I did, because when I finally did sit down to review the book, I ended up reading it cover to cover.
See, this book differs from it’s logo gallery brethren in that it offers a practical, step by step review of the logo design process. It’s clearly written by people who care deeply about branding and logo design.
The book is laid out in sections: Planning, Creating, Implementing, Case Studies, and Gallery. If you’ve read any of my design related writing, you know I’m a huge proponent of planning. This book dedicates 42 pages to the subject. Each sub-topic is given a two page spread, with plenty of examples and some terrific info graphics (Yes! Info! Graphics!).
This is a book for the professional designer, and as such is immediately head and shoulders above many in this crowded publishing niche. It focusses on strategy, not just the standard color/type/form explanations we expect from logo books.
This is a very useful and inspirational book. The gallery contains only a few logos I’ve seen elsewhere. The quality of the selections is very high. The authors clearly have a passion for their craft, and it is infectious. What’s more, it’s cheap, at under $30. Get all the details at the publisher’s website.