An excellent book serves as a mentor, guiding you through the complexities of brand development.

If you are searching for a list of top books on logo design books that will help you become a pro, look no further.

As a logo designer myself, over the years I've purchased and read dozens of books.

In this article, I will give you my recommendation as to what's worth adding to your book collection.

What books are the best to learn logo design?

There are dozens of books out there on logo design, brand identity, branding, and related topics, but all of them are equally good.

That’s why I narrowed down the list to only the titles I found most valuable for their content.

Many of these books are good for those who are just starting out in the field, as well as designers who have years of experience under their belts.

These books will help you create better logos and brand identities by providing you with some great tips and advice from top logo design experts.

Must-have books for logo designers

Books are great resources not just for education, but also for inspiration to create original logo designs.

I highly recommend "Designing Brand Identity" book to start with.

Many of the books I review below provide a mix of graphic design tips, and fundamental concepts as well as a compilation of great case studies and logo design examples.

‍Whenever another designer asks me for recommendations, I tell them to start with these 3 books—Designing Brand Identity, Logo Design Love, and Marks of Excellence.

The rest of the books in this list are great resources as well and they’ve helped me during those times when I needed a bit of inspiration.

1. Designing Brand Identity

The sixth edition of Designing Brand Identity is an updated and comprehensive guide to branding fundamentals, strategy, and process.

An excellent book serves as a mentor, guiding you through the complexities of brand development.

This is a well-structured guide that covers brand basics, processes, and real-world case studies.

It comes with over 100 branding tools and checklists, making it a practical resource for professionals.

The book also covers modern trends like AI and social justice, with over 50 real-life examples and 700 illustrations to spark inspiration.

Reading Designing Brand Identity can teach you a lot about branding principles, useful tools for building brands, and successful branding strategies.

This book is helpful for branding professionals, project managers, educators, and anyone interested in understanding brand basics.

Overall, I consider it one of the best books for logo designers, as it guides them through modern branding and essential practices, providing invaluable insights and guidance.

Buy on Amazon

2. Logos That Last

If you want to learn how to create iconic visual branding using innovative tools, Logos That Last is a great book.

A great book about creating iconic visual branding.

The book covers the knowledge and experience of Allan Peters, an award-winning graphic designer with more than 20 years of experience in the industry.

Allan has designed hundreds of logos for world-famous brands and his personal passion projects and shares his unique creative process of creating logos in this book.

Logos That Last includes detailed case studies following designs from concept to completion and strategies for extending a great logo into a dynamic brand system.

You will also find strategies for turning a good idea into a great logo.

This book will teach you about building great client relationships while cultivating consistency and productivity.

Additionally, it offers valuable advice for making a career out of logo design.

Overall, Logos That Last is another best book for logo designers looking to enhance their logo design skills.

Buy Logos That Last on Amazon

3. Made By James

Made By James is a book written by James Martin, a UK-based graphic designer and it is the winner of the American Graphic Design Award for Book Design in 2021.

A great book about creating outstanding logos and building a successful career. 

This book covers James’s experience, insights, and advice to help designers improve their creative work.

James says that design is not only about making pictures; it's also about gaining trust from clients, using inspiration well, sharing ideas, and being part of a community. 

In his book, he shares his own unique step-by-step process that he uses to create innovative, clever, and memorable logos. 

You'll learn how to design logos, refine your creative process, cultivate strong client relationships, and maintain consistency in your work. 

Made By James has detailed case studies that show how designs are made and explain why a hands-on, personal design approach is good. 

Additionally, James discusses the importance of personal and career growth, offering insights into effective work habits that can bring you both happiness and productivity. 

If you're a logo designer who wants to understand the design process from start to finish and improve your career, the Made By James book is perfect for you.

Buy Made By James on Amazon

4. Decoding Logos

Decoding Logos is an essential book for anyone interested in the world of logo design and branding.

A must-read for mastering the art of logo design and creating impactful brand identities.

It showcases best practices for extending a logo into a comprehensive brand identity system, ensuring consistency and cohesion.

The book shares fascinating stories about logo creation and explains the whole design process from beginning to end.

It has valuable insights through client case studies from renowned designers, highlighting real-world applications and challenges.

In Decoding Logos, you’ll learn how to create simple, strong logos and see how small changes can make a big impact.

This book also includes interviews with graphic designers who share their creative processes and perspectives on successful logo development.

Overall,  for graphic designers, students, and logo enthusiasts seeking to deepen their understanding of branding.

Buy Decoding Logos on Amazon

5. Logo Design Love

If you were to read just one book about the logo design process, I recommend Logo Design Love by David Airey.

A must-have book to learn professional logo design.

Learn about quality logo design with the 31 useful design tips explored in this wonderful book.

I’ve read Logo Design Love from cover to cover, and I consider it one of the best resources for anyone who wants to learn about branding.

This Logo design books guide you through the process of creating a successful, professional logo by taking you from the very first idea in your sketchbook to its final print form.

It breaks the subject down into simple, basic concepts that novice designers can follow step-by-step and teaches how to compare logo designs to determine which one is better.

This book also emphasizes the best ways to use logo design to represent your brand and even provides tips on how to work with clients to create their ideal logos.

If you’re new to the industry, you may find the insider stories and practical, actionable tips invaluable.

Overall, the Logo Design Love book will help you create iconic logos that stand the test of time.

‍Buy on Amazon

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6. Marks of Excellence

This book is a comprehensive catalog of hundreds of trademarks of some of the most well-known brands.

A great book to learn about the history of some of the most iconic trademarks.

Author Per Mollerup gives a thoughtful analysis of trademarks, the companies they represent, and their impact on today’s culture.

This isn’t your regular coffee table book; while it does offer some vivid photos, it is mainly an educational resource.

‍Marks of Excellence is one of these books on my shelf that I love to use as a great reference to explain what a successful logo is to my clients.

This book is a visual feast, but it also covers the technical aspects of trademark design and implementation.

Not only that, it delves into the impact of trademarks on society and how we they work to help us identify the world’s biggest organizations.

If you read this book, you’ll be blown away by its thorough research and analysis.

Overall, the Marks of Excellence book is like taking a course on the history of trademarks.

‍Buy Marks of Excellence of Amazon

7. Identity

Identity delves into the process of leading design firm Chermayeff & Geismar & Haviv, (the studio I worked at) which is responsible for some of the most iconic logos of our time.

This book is like taking a masterclass in logo & identity design.

This is essentially a compilation of the firm’s 60 years of work, highlighting the most striking, memorable logos in many major industries.

This book serves as an encyclopedia; it’s a comprehensive look at how the industry at-large tackles brand identity projects.

As a designer, I appreciated seeing the evolution of the brand identities of some of the biggest companies in the world.

This book takes you from the inception of these logos and shows you how they changed according to the styles of the time.

Aside from being educational, this book is visually stunning, providing rich images and illustrations that are sure to inspire you to create your own logos.

The way this book is crafted is a testament to the firm’s legacy in branding and design.

Overall, the Identity book is one of the best books for designers working in the logo design space.

‍Buy Identity on Amazon

8. Logo Modernism

Logo Modernism is an interesting book that includes 6,000 trademarks from 1940 to 1980, diving into how modernist ideals paved the way for corporate identity as we know it today.

How modernism influenced the way corporations use branding.

This comprehensive resource teaches form and style, and its chapters are organized into simple categories: Geometric, Effect, and Typographic.

This book goes over case studies that provide useful examples of effective logo design and branding.

When I was looking for a book that would inspire my creativity, this one was the one most recommended to me by other designers.

It pares logos down to their most basic shapes and is a treasure trove for logo designers in need of some quick inspiration.

‍Logo Modernism is organized in a way that helps designers browse different styles of logos to fuel their creative process.

This is one of the best books for logo designers, because of the many great logo examples that can help you brainstorm designs for your clients.

‍Buy Logo Modernism on Amazon

9. Los Logos 8

Los Logos 8 is a classic compilation of current developments in logo design—a great book series for any designer.

A thoughtfully curated showcase of logos from designers worldwide.

This is a great reference book that is both a guide to the latest innovations as well as of forecast of upcoming trends in logo design.

The 8th edition looks more into the current ever-changing world of branding.

This compendium showcases an unparalleled selection of cutting-edge logo design examples from around the globe.

A practical and insightful handbook that serves as a source of inspiration—a must-have for any designer, brand manager, or marketing strategist.

This expertly curated collection is both entertaining and inspiring through its whooping 400 pages filled with logos.

For me, this book serves as a library of shapes—if I get stuck on a project, I can always find something that will prompt new ideas.

Overall, the Los Logos book covers the most popular styles used in today’s logo designs.

You can also reach out for older versions to ultimately build a great collection of inspirational books for your design studio.

‍Buy Los Logos on Amazon

10. Logo (revised edition)

Logo by Michael Evamy is a classic book for logo designers that was just revised recently.

A branding bible that provides designers with a great logo design reference.

Logo is now getting a revamp with the addition of over 300 new logos in this fully revised and updated edition.

The new revamp edition includes 300 brand new logos added to an existing vast collection of over 1,600 symbols and logotypes.

All of the logos are organized into categories like crosses, stars, crowns, animals, people, etc. to help you find something that could inspire you in your logo ideation phase.

All of these logos are also shown in just black and white to focus exclusively on the visual form.

The book includes work from a diverse range of designers, including masters such as Paul Rand and Saul Bass, but also from contemporary designers.

‍Buy Logo book on Amazon

11. Identity Designed

If you’re looking for one of the best books for design students, this is one of the most valuable resources I can recommend.

A compilation of case studies from top design studios.

The book teaches working designers how to collaborate with clients and provide service that goes beyond their expectations.

Identity Designed expands on the basics of logo design and goes over the history of branding, from its early stages to contemporary practices.

The book, by itself, is beautifully designed; it provides great examples of how to implement cohesive branding throughout different elements of your business.

The author takes case studies and analyzes them so that the reader can follow the trajectories of successful branding strategies.

‍It guides you on how to conduct research, as well as use what you find to generate ideas, create strategies, and improve your business.

David highlights leading designers and firms in the brand design arena to explain how a good design lays the framework for a good business.

‍Identity Designed is a great book for already practicing designers to get more specific tips on how to produce quality design work.

‍Buy Identity Designed on Amazon

12. Square, Circle, Triangle

Over half a century ago, famous designer Bruno Munari published a series of books on shapes; those works—Circle, Square, and Triangle—are now available as one volume.

An exploration of how basic shapes can influence logo design.

He assigns qualities to the three basic shapes: the circle as divine, the square as safety and enclosure, and the triangle as a connective form.

Referred by Picasso as “The Leonardo of our time”, Munari interprets design beyond its technical foundations.

The book goes over the psychology of using circles, squares, and triangles in logo design and how pervasive they have become in the industry.

I loved that this book is more than just about design; it adds a deeply human element to the field of design as a whole.

It covers the rich history of symbology and archetypes that you’ll only find in the most advanced logo design courses.

The subjects covered in this book are as relevant now as they were when they were first published in the 1960s.

I highly recommend this book because it provides best practices for incorporating these basic shapes into your designs to create meaningful logos.

‍Buy Square, Circle, Triangle on Amazon

13. Logotype

Logotype is yet another collection of logos, but this time is all about wordmarks aka logotypes, not symbols.

A mini (pocket-size) branding reference for designers and design students.

The book features over 1,300 typographic identities created by 250 design studios from around the world.

Examples are drawn not just from North America and Western Europe (like other books) but also from Eastern Europe. South Africa, the Far East, South America, and Australia.

An indispensable handbook for every design studio that to draw on when in the process of designing text-based logos.‍

Some of the contributing firms include giants such as Pentagram, Wolff Olins, and Landor as well as countless highly creative, emerging studios.

‍The logotype is an important and essential companion volume to other books available in a mini version: Logo and Symbol.

‍Buy Logotype on Amazon

14. Logo Creed

A definite and gorgeous book on logo design, process, craft, and management. In this book, Bill explores the magic that surrounds the visual conception of famous brands.

You are a designer, Logo Creed is a must

Logo Creed (The Mystery, Magic, and Method Behind Designing Great Logos)—was written by corporate branding expert and founder of LogoLounge.com Bill Gardner speaks to the magic of design and offers a window into the designer's philosophy.

Logo Creed connects designers with knowledgeable mentors who are frank about the steps used to create effective designs.

It respects the logo design profession and individual designers while bringing up some excellent ideas that leave readers with food for thought.

Logo Creed is a fascinating book, especially for newcomers, because it explains what lies underneath the logo world.

Finally, you will enter the delivery phase where you will learn how to create brand DNA, tailor presentations for particular scenarios and clients, communicate the brand story, and maintain the vitality and life of your designs even after you have handed them off.

For students, self-taught designers, and lifelong learners, this book is really helpful.

Buy Logo Creed on Amazon

15. Poor Designer, Rich Designer

And as last but not least on my list, I feature my new upcoming book scheduled for release in August 2024.

Currently in development, it's designed to be an essential guide for both aspiring and seasoned logo designers.

In this book, I share my journey from a struggling artist to a successful branding expert, offering a wealth of practical strategies, technical skills, and insights into effective client communication.

Although still a work in progress, "Poor Designer, Rich Designer" is available for pre-order, providing a unique opportunity for designers to be among the first to explore its rich content.

This book is not just a collection of theories; it's a roadmap to transforming your design career, making it a must-have for anyone serious about mastering the art of logo design.

Pre-order Rich Designer

What’s the best logo design book?

If I had to choose only one of these logo design books to read in 2024, I would go with Logo Design Love.‍

Perhaps it is because this is the first book I ever read about logo design (it’s first edition) and It truly helped me advance my career as a designer.

I have been doing logo design for several years before I came across this book, but I when I learned tips from David Airey it helped me solidify my logo design process as well as introduce new tips and tricks.

However, It’s also good to have a few catalogs of great logo design examples to draw inspiration from (Logotype, Logo, Marks of Excellence).

The next essential book that pushed my career forwards is Designing Brand Identity by Alina Wheeler—a well written content on all aspects of branding, far beyond just logo design.

Conclusions

You can choose any one of these design books, and I guarantee that they’ll be a valuable addition to your book collection.

All of them are filled with tips and examples to inspire your own logo design process.

Whether you’re a design student or you consider yourself a pro—I hope that my reviews will help you find something for yourself.

No matter where you are in your career as a logo designer, I recommend you grab a copy of any one of these books and start reading today!

Did I miss any of your favorite books on logo design that you think should be on the list?—Let me know in the comments below.

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