Useful logo design resources

I’ve searched my bookmarks and gathered your top tips, culminating in this selection of sites, books, articles and designers.
Resource topics
Click a topic to jump to that section.
- Where to find excellent typefaces
- The history of logos
- Logo books
- Logo design trends
- A selection of logo articles
- World-renowned design agencies
- Independent logo design portfolios
- Logo design awards
- Blogs talking about logos
- Adobe Illustrator tutorials
- Showcases
- Style guides and manuals
- Further resources
Where to find excellent typefaces
- Hoefler & Frere-Jones, H&FJ works with brand leaders in every sector, developing original typefaces and licensing fonts from its library of nearly 1,000 designs
- Porchez Typofonderie, an independent digital type foundry in France, designing, manufacturing and selling high quality typefaces
- OurType, founded in 2002, OurType is managed by three partners: Fred Smeijers, Corina Cotorobai and Rudy Geeraerts
- Village, the union of eleven young type foundries who have decided to go it alone, together
- P22, creates computer typefaces inspired by art, history, and sometimes science
- FontShop, around for 16 years, since the dawn of digital type
- Fonts.com, searchable database of more than 150,000 fonts
The history of logos
- History of popular logo designs, categorised in alphabetical order with a search feature, too
- The Evolution of Tech Company Logos, how famous logos came to be, from Neatorama
- The Evolution of Car Logos, more historical insights over on Neatorama
- Branding Firefox, a short insight into the history of the Firefox browser
Logo books
- Logo Design Love: A Guide to Creating Iconic Brand Identities
- Logo by Michael Evamy
- Decoding Design by Maggie Macnab
- Marks of Excellence
- cidoc.net’s corporate identity book list
- Identity Crisis
- LogoLounge 4 // LogoLounge 3 // LogoLounge 2 // LogoLounge
- Tres Logos // Dos Logos // Los Logos
Logo design trends
“Logo trends” is a bit of an oxymoron. Granted, a logo should live and grow with a brand, but it shouldn’t adhere to the latest, greatest fads. Because of which I don’t much like these trend features, but I know they prove popular, so here you are.
- 2010 trends // 2009 // 2008 // 2007 // 2006 // 2005 // 2004 // 2003
Bill Gardner of LogoLounge takes us through trends from the last decade according to the logos that have been uploaded to his website — and that’s a lot of logos. - Logo trends in 2009 // and in 2008
From LogoOrange.com.
A selection of logo articles
- 100 unused logos and what they reveal about my design inclinations
An excellent insight behind the designer by Armin of Speak Up. - 6 reasons why a logo should cost more than your lunch
Tara of Graphic Design Blog writes a short but sweet article. - Logo Notions
Jeff Fisher’s insightful collection of logo design articles on Creative Latitude. - Logos with a meaning
An extra insight into a selection of logos, by Ivan of CreativeBits. - How many speech bubble logos have you seen lately?
A fraction of what’s going down out there in Web Bubble Logo Land. - Logo design guide
youthedesigner.com offers some stellar advice for designing logos. - The LogoWorks saga
A huge collection of articles about the multi-million dollar business, LogoWorks. - Is your logo design phallic?
A little logo humour to lighten the mood.
World renowned design agencies
- Lippincott
- Pentagram
- Johnson Banks
- The Brand Union
- Tayburn
- The Partners
- ico design
- Minale Tattersfield
- FutureBrand
- Chermayeff & Geismar
Independent logo design portfolios
- David Airey
That’s me. Nothing much to write home about. Have a look at these guys instead. - Miles Newlyn
- Jerry Kuyper
- Andrew Sabatier
- Denis Radenkovic, of 38one
- Nancy Wu
- Roy Smith
Logo design awards
- Wolda // 2008 winners showcase
This is what used to be called Eulda (below), but has since expanded into the World Logo Design Awards (Wolda) - Eulda 2007 winners // 2006 winners
The winning entries from the European Logo Design Awards (Eulda) from 2007 and 2006. - Identity: Best of 2007 winners // 2006 winners
The results of an international logo design competition, judged by a very experienced panel. - Logo Design Love Awards
View the winners from the inaugural Logo Design Love Awards, featuring the best blog logos around.
Blogs talking about logos
- Brand New, great chat focusing on corporate and brand identity work
- Identity design category on davidairey.com, added insight from yours truly
- logolog, from 38one
- bLog-oMotives, Jeff Fisher’s blog
- Speak Up on Identity, the branding and identity category on Speak Up
- Logobird, a blog from down-under by Duane Kinsey
Adobe Illustrator tutorials
- N.DESIGN STUDIO
- Smashing Magazine
- Tutorial Blog
- Revitalise your logo with a Crescent Swish
“Can I get a swoosh with that?” a little humour from Logo Hell
Showcases
- FIFA World Cup logos from 1950 to 2010
- 50 Olympic logos from 1924 to 2016
- Top 10 Rock Band Logos
- The Logo Design Love category for logo designs
- 10 examples of simple effective logos
Style guides and manuals
- Identityworks: Tools – Guidelines and Standards Manuals
- Channel 4 identity style guides
- Corporate Identity Documentation
- Boston University Brand Identity Standards
- NHS Brand Guidelines
- Designing Style Guidelines For Brands And Websites
- Christopher Doyle Brand Guidelines, write-up on Johnson Banks
Further resources
- Iconic logo designers, a rundown of the worlds most iconic designers
- Corporate identity catalogue, showing typefaces and Pantone references for some of the worlds main identites
- Forums for logo design feedback, upload your designs for constructive criticism
- LogoLounge, paid registration to have your work included in the book series
- Designguide’s logo gallery
English translation of a German site about design and logos. - LogoPond, similar to LogoLounge, only free
- The big page of branding and corporate identity resources
Covers manuals, guides, trademarking, laws, and more, from LogoOrange.com - The Identity Archives Project
- Sites for vector logo downloads, for when you need a well-known EPS file in a hurry
Hopefully that lot will keep you engrossed for a while. If you know of any more excellent logo design resources, feel free to mention them in a comment.

























128 appreciated comments, click here to add one
Zinni
Insanely great resource, I think you should also add the book “Logo Design” that came out some time last year (the one with the purple foil stamp on the cover)
This book has some great case studies in the front, and is every bit as good as the logo lounge series… I hope the do a follow up.
Feb 25th, 2008
jesusOmar
Great resource… thanks for another excellent post.
Feb 25th, 2008
David Airey
Zinni, I don’t suppose you have a link for that book? Glad you like the resources here.
Feb 25th, 2008
Jacob Cass
That is a perfect list. Totally Dugg. And thanks for the link to JCD and the Guest Article mention.
Feb 25th, 2008
Steven Snell
Great resource David. Thanks for mentioning my post.
Feb 25th, 2008
inspirationbit
great addition to my bookmarks.
How long does it take to put a resource guide like this?
Feb 25th, 2008
David
Thanks for the mention David, great list here I didn’t even know of some of these, Thanks.
Feb 25th, 2008
David Airey
Vivien, glad you wanted to bookmark this. I pieced it together in around two or three hours, spread out over a week (kept having to leave it and come back to the draft at a later point).
Feb 26th, 2008
Jim
I wrote an article a while back called 9 Rules to creating a logo you can live with and still get paid, and I think it’s something all relatively new logo designers should think about.
The list you’ve put together is excellent! Some great resources and inspiration in there.
Feb 26th, 2008
Mark Lester
Great resource David!
One to bookmark!
Thanks for making my day!
Mark
Feb 26th, 2008
Jeff Fisher LogoMotives
David -
Thanks for the multiple inclusions.
A great list. If I were to suggest one addition it would be Tony Spaeth’s Identityworks (http://www.identityworks.com/).
- J.
Feb 26th, 2008
David Pache
David, thanks again :^)
Feb 26th, 2008
Jermayn Parker
Im dizzy after just looking at what you have written…
Most of it is not for me but definitely for my graphic designer, guess I wont be expecting anything soon from him :|
Feb 27th, 2008
johno
Some great resources there, David. Thanks for putting this together. And I’m looking forward to the results of the Logo Design Love Awards.
Feb 27th, 2008
Frank
Awesome resources !
May i add 2 logo books to the list i can’t live without:
“Logo, Font & Lettering Bible” by Leslie Cabarga, which to me is the single most amazing book when it comes to logos – full of information, practical advice and so not “just another book of 1000 logos”.Link here:
http://www.amazon.com/Logo-Font-Lettering-Bible-Comprehensive/dp/1581804369/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1204233084&sr=8-1
“Idea Index” by Jim Krause; ironically Jim has written another, different book specifically about logos – still i find “Idea Index” to be a lot more helpful in terms of getting ideas for logos.It’s an incredible wealthy pool of idea resources and perfect for the time when you have a “designer’s block”.Link here:
http://www.amazon.com/Idea-Index-Graphic-Typographic-Treatments/dp/1581800460/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1204233315&sr=8-1
Geez, actually i am giving away top secret industry secrets here but hey, both books deserve it ! ;)
Feb 28th, 2008
David Airey
Jim, I enjoyed your article. Thanks for linking through to it.
Jeff, great suggestion. I’ll add it shortly.
Johno, thanks again for recommending type foundries. They’re excellent. I hope the Awards nominees live up to expectation.
Frank, I’ll have to add those books. Cheers for stopping by.
Mar 3rd, 2008
Fubiz
Impressive selection. The links are good!
Mar 4th, 2008
Tom B.
David-
Thanks for compiling such a comprehensive resource.
Can you (or any guests) take a look at our newly launched website and let us know what you think.
http://www.performancelogo.com
Thanks – Tom B.
Mar 13th, 2008
David Airey
Hi Tom,
I like the video presentation from your co-founder (or is it you?). Perhaps adding a name beside the video would help. People like to know who they’re watching.
Also, how about breaking up your portfolio page a little? Placing logos with descriptions, or ordering them better as opposed to here and there.
Mar 14th, 2008
Marta
Eu adoro estes livros: Tres Logos // Dos Logos // Los Logos !!!! São muito bons !!!!
Jun 17th, 2008
Joe
Excellent resource list! Bookmarked and recommended to other designers!
Jul 1st, 2008
Sachin Bhavsar
How can you skip to add
http://www.logosauce.com/
http://www.logotwo.com/
http://www.web2logo.com/
Jul 9th, 2008
Tom
Hi David,
great site with useful resources! I know many of your recommended books and would also recommend the book “Lingua Universalis: Global Wordless Understanding”.
Best regards,
Tom
Aug 10th, 2008
Chelle
I am so bookmarking this for the next time i need to do a little logo designing! Thanks for this great list!
Aug 17th, 2008
logo
Very useful, thanks.
Feb 18th, 2009
Nick Matsa
Nice and useful information
it think Parachute® has also got really good corporate typefaces
Mar 26th, 2009
Mark Sequeira of mjaStudios
I LOVE the page. I am helping push you up the web rankings by linking you to a few places and also on my facebook page.
Thanks again!
Mark
Apr 8th, 2009
alpharice
Great resource David!
May 4th, 2009
Muzica Nu Ucide
Yup, a very resourcefull list indeed. There is one thing you shouldn’t do in the future: when writing down links – they all open in the same window, wich takes me away from the page I’m on. So the best thing to do – from a PR point of view and usability too – is always to make the links open in a new window, so the user won’t have to click “Back” button or get irritated by that.
Pardon my English and, once again, this article is good work!
May 27th, 2009
vysakh
Nice resource, Thanks very much.
Jun 7th, 2009
Ovi Dogar
Wow…amazing collection… and very useful information!
Keep posting! ;)
Jun 30th, 2009
Gabe Ruane
For the ‘further resources’ category, have a look at Http://www.identityarchives.com for keyword-based searches. It’s a solid tool for visual research, allowing for searches based on stylistic and subjective details.
Aug 4th, 2009
Matty
This list is incredible it is huge! Well done for providing such an excellent resource. This page is being bookmarked now.
Aug 26th, 2009
Douglas Bonneville
Just found this page…what a great resource. What are the links below the comments? Are they extra resources or pingback/trackbacks (whatever the difference between those 2 are :) )
I love the Firefox logo article up there. I have a copy of the NIV “Children’ts Bible” that inspired the original fox design. It was the story of Samson when he tied burning torches to the tails of paired-up foxes and set them running to burn the Philistines down…which some people correlate to Internet Explorer. Or maybe just IE6 :)
Oct 19th, 2009
Douglas Bonneville
Firefox inspiration source:
http://img9.imageshack.us/img9/2210/originoffirefoxlogo.jpg
Oct 19th, 2009
David Airey
How great to see what the Firefox logo was inspired from. Thanks, Doug.
The links below comments are indeed trackbacks. I added a heading to them, then removed it when I realised the heading shows on posts without any, which looked odd. I know there’s some php “if” and “else” code that gets around that, but I was too busy at the time to go studying.
Oct 19th, 2009
Douglas Bonneville
The upcoming replacement for Firefox is tentatively called “Donkey Jaw”. Just kidding :) (See the “Book of Judges” around chapter 15 for the punchline).
Oct 20th, 2009
frost
Wow David, how did you find that Firefox inspiration? Is that really where it came from!? What an obscure and random place to draw inspiration, but I guess that’s where the best types of inspiration are drawn from hahaha.
Oct 21st, 2009
Michelle
WOW what a massive list of resources all for logo design, this is great and must have taken you hours of putting together for us to read, thanks :)
Nov 7th, 2009
Fabrizio Van Marciano
Brilliant list of resources. Been going through them over the weekend so great thanks for taking the time to put together and sharing.
Dec 21st, 2009
Ana De Leon
awesome source. I am actually working on a logo design in my vector and raster class and this is so helpful!
Feb 5th, 2010
John Miles
Wow- what a great resource for designers and inspiration. I’ll be placing a link from my website to this one. It’s always inspirational to find a new resource that simply inspires me to do better.
Mar 30th, 2010
Ben Stokes
Great website – first time on here and have stumbled on some brilliant posts, the logo design resources you have posted will come in handy for sure. Great stuff . . . thanks.
May 2nd, 2010
Juancho
Thanks. just bookmarked this site for future reference :) awesome resources :)
May 3rd, 2010
Ed DeJoliet
These resources have been a goldmine of valuable info. Please keep them coming.
I have gained a ton of ideas.
May 22nd, 2010
Samantha Wright
Brilliant collection, I have enjoyed going through the websites. Taken some time though.
Jul 22nd, 2010
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