Logo Design Workbook, A Hands-On Guide To Creating Logos
Sean Adams and Noreen Morioka with Terry Stone
Published by Rockport Publishing (www.rockpub.com)
ISBN: 1-59253-131-8
- 240 pages
- soft cover
- color
The book starts with a very brief history of logos in general and then moves on to why the need for logos came into existence.
A definition of what a logo is in terms of the various types of logos that have been created such as wordmarks and symbols and the pros and cons of each is covered in the next section.
The authors then discuss the "Ten Rules" of logo design examining considerations that a designer should make in the process of designing a logo. Areas covered include the various media that a logo will be used in; print, web, and video. Also covered in this chapter are issues surrounding limitations of logo design from a cultural and historic perspective, designing a logo for longevity, embedding the logo with interest through mnemonic value, viewer interest, showing rather than telling. This chapter also has a rather good list of questions that should be answered that will help the designer define "who, where,what, and why" of the logo design, in short, what the new design is expected to accomplish.
The logo development section covers typography, shape, scale, hierarchy and building a kit of parts.
In the section about implementation, rollout issues are discussed such as getting non-stake holders to buy into the new identity, developing standards manuals for maintaining the integrity of the mark and usage. There are a couple of very strong examples of standards manuals presented from the formal to the light hearted.
The case study section makes up the bulk of the book and showcases various logos and their uses, brief discussions by their creators covering a range of topics from what the logo was intended to do in an interview style to the designer's explanations of the goals of the projects.
Throughout the book is laced with various logos and there is a brief examination of each in terms of the context of the various chapters. The depth of the topic feels as if the authors have only been able to gloss over various areas in order to meet the constraints of the book, but the brevity is more than made up by the value of the questions they've posed that should enable a designer to conduct their own research into creating a strong logo. As well the case studies offer a variety of perspectives from different designers providing a well rounded and interesting look into the design process. This book will prove useful to designers who need to determine and define the criteria that goes into making a successful logo that will help their clients meet their goals.
Thanks for the kind review of our book. We hope that readers are finding it useful. The book contains a lot of practical design, process, and strategic information that was learned through trial and error by some of the best identity designers we know. As suggested, we kept the content short, but sweet, so people didn’t need to read hundreds of words to get to the really important stuff they want to know. If people like this book, they may want to check out our second book, The Color Design Workbook, which follows a very similar format, but tackles color as an essential design tool.
I bought this book not to long ago and I'm very happy with the level of content inside. This book does more for me than say logolounge or 'the big book of logos' because it showcases the process that other people use to create a definitive mark. I think it's a nice bright book as well, fun to flip through, but also of value to read. Two thumbs up for this one.
Thanks Carl. I like the LogoLounge series as a reference and for inspiration. Sometimes you just want to see a lot and lots of logos! With the Workbook series all of us authors are trying to blend real how-to info with great work samples.They are a kind of hybrid tool.