Book Review: Logo Design Love

 

Logo Design Love
A guide to creating iconic brand identities
Second Edition
by David Airey

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If I’m truly being above-board this post should be called a ”book promotion” or something more along this lines—the Logo Design Love book has been a favourite of mine for years. Even after a recent re-read it’s just as interesting, informative and accessible as it was when I first read it several years ago. In the meantime, I’ve been keeping up with David Airey’s excellent design brain via his blogs: identitydesigned.com and yes, logodesignlove.com. An experienced freelance designer from Northern Ireland, he brings insight and a solid knowledge of design to his blog writing.

If analog is more your game though, Logo Design Love is a beautiful all-round look at logos: why they’re important, what makes the good ones good, the process and relationships involved. Also of particular benefit to any designer —newbie or veteran, print or web—is his advice on how to conduct yourself, business-wise. Airey talks about practical skills like pricing, scheduling, staying motivated, thinking critically and learning from mistakes. It’s valuable stuff.

It’s clear from the number of quality contributors to his book that Airey is well-respected in the design community: MetaDesign, UnderConsideration and Pentagram have shared their experiences and work, as well as designers I had not heard of before, like the talented Canadian designer Nancy Wu (so good!)

I particularly enjoyed Airey’s look at logo redesigns, and the way in which certain logos have changed over the decades. The book shares some excellent behind-the-scenes stories, such as case studies that examine different logo designs from concept to completion, including sketches, client conversations and presentations along with the chosen designs. There’s a focus on the fact that providing quality work for your client requires a bevy of research, reflection, trial-and-error and refinement. It’s an involved process, but when tackled with focus and enthusiasm it can yield great results. Anyone interested in learning more about the ins and outs of logo design, identity design and branding as a whole would do well to sit down with this book for a couple of hours and soak it all in. It’s informative, insightful, and absolutely inspiring.

 

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