Out next month from Laurence King Publishing: “TM: The Untold Stories Behind 29 Classic Logos,” by Mark Sinclair.
The book takes 29 internationally recognized logos and explains their development, design, usage, and purpose. Based upon interviews with the designers responsible for these totems, and encompassing the marks from a range of corporate, artistic, and cultural institutions from across the globe, TM reveals the stories behind such icons as the Coca-Cola logotype, the Penguin Books’ colophon, and the Michelin Man.
Sinclair is deputy editor of the U.K.’s Creative Review magazine, so the list of brands that he covers, below, includes some names that might not be immediately familiar to many Americans. Nevertheless, it looks terrific.
- Bell Systems, Saul Bass, US, 1985
- British Rail, Gerry Barney, UK, 1964
- British Steel, David Gentleman, UK, 1969
- CBS, William Golden, US, 1951
- Canadian National, Allan Fleming, Canada, 1960
- CND, Gerald Holtom, UK, 1958
- Coca-Cola, Frank Mason Robinson, US, 1887
- Deutsche Bank, Anton Stankowski, Germany, 1974
- ENO, Mike Dempsey, UK, 1991
- ERCO, Otl Aicher, Germany, 1974
- España, Joan Miró, Spain, 1983
- I Love New York, Milton Glaser, US, 1975
- London Underground, Edward Johnston, UK, 1919
- Michelin, O’Galop, France, 1898
- Munich, ’72, Coordt von Mannstein, Germany, 1971
- Musée d’Orsay, Bruno Monguzzi, Switzerland, 1983
- NASA, Bruce Blackburn, US, 1974
- National Theatre, Ian Dennis, UK, 1974
- Osborne Bull, Manolo Prieto, Spain, 1956
- Penguin, Edward Young, UK, 1935
- Peru, FutureBrand, Argentina, 2011
- Pirelli, Unknown, Italy, 1908
- Pompidou Centre, Jean Widmer, Switzerland, 1977
- Randstad, Ben Bos, Netherlands, 1960
- Tate, Wolff Olins, UK, 1999
- UPS, Paul Rand, US, 1961
- V&A, Alan Fletcher, UK, 1989
- Woolmark, Franco Grignani, Italy, 1964
- WWF, Sir Peter Scott, UK, 1961
More information at laurenceking.com, or you can pre-order a copy at Amazon.com—if you use that link, I get a little affiliate fee and everyone’s happy.
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