Logo Design Workbook: A Hands-On Guide to Creating Logos

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Logo Design Workbook focuses on creating powerful logo designs and answers the question, "What makes a logo work?"In the first half of this book, authors Sean Adams and Noreen Morioka walk readers step-by-step through the entire logo-development process. Topics include developing a concept that communicates the right message and is appropriate for both the client and the market; defining how the client's long-term goals might affect the look and needs of the mark; choosing colors and typefaces; avoiding common mistakes; and deciphering why some logos are successful whereas others are not.

The second half of the book comprises in-depth case studies on logos designed for various industries. Each case study explores the design brief, the relationship with the client, the time frame, and the results.

240 pages, Paperback

First published January 1,2004

About the author

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Sean Adams is the Chair of the Undergraduate and Graduate Graphic Design Program at ArtCenter. He also serves as Executive Director of the Graphic Design Graduate Program. Adams continues his design practice with The Office of Sean Adams. He is the author of multiple books, and on-screen author for LinkedIn Learning. He is the only two-term AIGA national president in AIGA's 100-year history. In 2014, Adams was awarded the AIGA Medal, the highest honor in the profession. He currently is on the editorial board and writes for Design Observer.

Adams is an AIGA and Aspen Design Fellow. He has been widely recognized by every major competition and publication, including a solo exhibition at SFMOMA. Adams has been cited as one of the forty most important people shaping design internationally, and one of the top ten influential designers in the United States. Previously, Adams was a founding partner of AdamsMorioka.


Community Reviews

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9 reviews All reviews
March 26,2025
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A bright, very visual guide to the process of creating logos, marks, and branding identity. The first half of the book walks through the design steps, followed by a large number of case studies in which designers present work for specific clients. I am not a designer so the entire field is new to me, and I appreciated never feeling lost or overwhelmed by jargon or text designed exclusively for trained designers. I found the case studies very interesting (for the most part), and appreciated that they originated from many different markets across the world, showing different aesthetics and approaches in different cultures and countries.
I think I might appreciate this book even more if I were to force myself to do some of this thinking in developing a logo or brand, which would make me explore and understand the creative steps better.
March 26,2025
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Not what it says in the tin. Not a bad book, but I feel underwhelmed.
March 26,2025
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Logo Design Workbook focuses on creating powerful logo designs and answers the question, "What makes a logo work?"In the first half of this book, authors Sean Adams and Noreen Morioka walk readers step-by-step through the entire logo-development process.
March 26,2025
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I want more from this book. I don't say it's not good, but it can't give me new skill or new aspect about logo design.
March 26,2025
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Pretty elementary, even for an introductory book. Wastes pages with examples of fonts the reader should already be acquainted with if they've ever used MS Word, basics of colors you learn in Art 101, etc.

Also, "No one likes change and the designer is the catalyst for change." I mean really?

It'd be cool as a coffee table conversation starter, I guess, and it's a good reference to get the juices flowing (so to speak), but far too superficial to provide much utility.
March 26,2025
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This is another series I enjoy from Rockport, and the firm of AdamsMorioka was a great choice to edit the Logo Design Workbook.

The authors give a very good account of the process behind not just logo design itself, but brand extention. They also feature several good examples supporting their points.

An interesting sidenote to this book is the inclusion of logos of the specific graphic design firms that contributed to the project. As 90% of them are purely typographic and decidedly minimalist, the contrast with most of the logos they've designed for others is a bit ironic.

Overall, another good design resource and addition to the library.
March 26,2025
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It's really more of a reference book for logo types and styles rather than giving step by step information how to design a logo. But if you're looking for inspiration and basic knowledge of logo styles this book is great for you.
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