The last few weeks I’ve been buying some new books for inspiration and reference. The majority of you probably already have some of them but maybe you don’t. I think these books are really helpful for every designer and it’s great and a lot of fun reading them.

Grid Systems

Although grid systems are the foundation for almost all typographic design, they are often associated with rigid, formulaic solutions. However, the belief that all great design is nonetheless based on grid systems (even if only subverted ones) suggests that few designers truly understand the complexities and potential riches of grid composition. In her best-selling “Geometry of Design,” Elam shows how proportion, symmetry, and other geometrical systems underlie many of the visual relationships that make for good design. Now, Elam brings the same keen eye and clear explanations to bear on the most prevalent, and maybe least understood, system of visual organization: the grid. Filled with extensive research and more than 100 informative examples from the Bauhaus to Nike ads, “Grid Systems” provides a rich, easy-to-understand overview and demonstrates a step-by-step approach to typographic composition. It suggests design strategies that transcend simple function and reductionist recipes to allow grids to become a means of truly dynamic communication. Any designer, educator, or student will benefit greatly from this elegant slim book, chock-a-block full of colorful examples, helpful vellum overlays, and Elam’s insightful analysis.

Typographic Systems

Typographic organization has always been a complex system in that there are so many elements at play, such as hierarchy, order of reading, legibility, and contrast. In “Typographic Systems,” Kim Elam, author of our bestselling books, “Geometry of Design” and “Grid Systems,” explores eight major structural frameworks beyond the grid including random, radial, modular, and bilateral systems. By taking the reader through exercises, student work, and professional examples, Elam offers a broad range of design solutions. Once essential visual organization systems are understood the designer can fluidly organize words or images within a structure, combination of structures, or a variation of a structure. With clarity and substance, each system from the structured axis to the nonhierarchical radial array is explained and explored so that the reader comes away with a better understanding of these intricate complex arrangements. “Typographic Systems” is the seventh title in our bestselling Design Briefs series, which has sold more than 100,000 copies worldwide.

Logo

The logo bible, this book provides graphic designers with an indispensable reference source for contemporary logo design. More than 1300 logos are grouped according to their focal form, symbol, and graphic associations into 75 categories such as crosses, stars, crowns, animals, people, handwritten, illustrative type, etc. To emphasize the visual form of the logos, they are shown predominantly in black and white.

By sorting a vast, international array of current logotypes ranging from those of small, design-led businesses to global brands the book offers design consultancies a ready resource to draw on in the research phase of identity projects. Logos are also indexed alphabetically by name of company/designer and by industrial sector, making it easy to piece together a picture of the state of the identity art in any client’s marketplace.

Los Logos 4

Los Logos 4 is the latest addition to Gestalten s line of books on contemporary
logo design. This compendium provides an authoritative overview of current
developments and advances in logo design, one of the most prestigious of creative
disciplines which represent the essential visual identity of brands, companies
and their philosophies.
At over 500 pages, Los Logos 4 is the largest volume to date, showcasing
a collection of contemporary logo design by bourgeoning design talent and
once again offering an essential resource for all designers. This state-of-the-art
visual encyclopaedia provides a quality selection of over 5,000 examples of stylistic
approaches by designers from around the globe. Fully indexed and structured
thematically, the book draws connections between the applications and
the fields for which they were intended.
Los Logos 4 is the perfect companion to the Logos series and an unparalleled
publication on contemporary logo design. The series has proved to be a precursor
to styles and trends in logo design and highlighted the increased relevance and
importance of the logo in the 21st Century.

Logo Design Love

There are a lot of books out there that show collections of logos. But David Airey’s “Logo Design Love” is something different: it’s a guide for designers (and clients) who want to understand what this mysterious business is all about. Written in reader-friendly, concise language, with a minimum of designer jargon, Airey gives a surprisingly clear explanation of the process, using a wide assortment of real-life examples to support his points. Anyone involved in creating visual identities, or wanting to learn how to go about it, will find this book invaluable. – Tom Geismar, Chermayeff & Geismar

In Logo Design Love, Irish graphic designer David Airey brings the best parts of his wildly popular blog of the same name to the printed page. Just as in the blog, David fills each page of this simple, modern-looking book with gorgeous logos and real world anecdotes that illustrate best practices for designing brand identity systems that last.

David not only shares his experiences working with clients, including sketches and final results of his successful designs, but uses the work of many well-known designers to explain why well-crafted brand identity systems are important, how to create iconic logos, and how to best work with clients to achieve success as a designer. Contributors include Gerard Huerta, who designed the logos for Time magazine and Waldenbooks; Lindon Leader, who created the current FedEx brand identity system as well as the CIGNA logo; and many more.

Vignelli From A to Z

This superbly presented volume is a treasure trove of the thoughts of internationally acclaimed designers Lella and Massimo Vignelli. For the past ten years, Massimo Vignelli has taught a summer course at the School of Design and Architecture at Harvard on subjects that were initially alphabetised for convenience, but now form the basis of this unprecedented and highly entertaining publication. Beginning with the intriguing ‘A for Ambiguity’, it continues through the alphabet, describing their approach to subjects as diverse as book design, discipline, furniture, garment design, interior design and lighting, newspapers, packaging and typography; each subject is discussed in detail and accompanied by numerous illustrations that complement the text. It offers a rare insight into the minds of two exceptional modernist designers.