Identity Designed #014
I’d appreciate your opinion.
I’ve been invited to write a third edition of the Logo Design Love book. The first was published in 2009, the second in 2014, so I know I could improve the content with lessons learned and by featuring many other designers, but a part of me wonders if I should move onto the next thing rather than rewrite the past.
The full title is Logo Design Love: A Guide to Creating Iconic Brand Identities, and with the content focusing more on logos than the broader identity I could rename a third edition something like Logo Design Love: The Art & Strategy of Timeless Brand Marks. Starting from scratch I’d probably drop the Love altogether, but with multiple translations there’s quite a bit of equity in it.
With my latest book being fairly new maybe I should leave the writing to one side, focus on client projects and improving my design output (I’m a better designer than I used to be, but my taste has always been elusively ahead of my skill).
Regular readers know me more than most, so if you can share your thoughts I’d be very grateful, or if you’re short on time here’s a quick poll.
Some other things I thought worth sharing.
“If I were to choose to live my life over again, I wouldn’t live it in this way.” Gabor Maté reflects on how he was driven to justify his existence in the world, ignoring what matters.
It made me think about how I’ll sometimes feel the need to work to justify why I’m here. I’m certain that feeling is exacerbated by social media where I don’t just see what one person achieves on a given day, I see what hundreds achieve, and I unrealistically compare my meagre output to this mass body of creativity.
Fictional Brands Archive is a collection of many fictional brands found in films, series and video games, developed by Lorenzo Bernini as part of a Master's thesis in Communication Design at Politecnico di Milano, titled Fictional Brand Design. Via Jessica Strelioff.
Related is this excellent piece from It’s Nice That: I’m a fake brand, in a fake world.
“For the PRINT Awards 2025, we developed a biophilia-inspired design system, representing the act of creation through a continuously growing and blooming landscape.” A visually stunning project by The Collected Works.
The Dropbox Brand Guidelines are smart. Via Rob Meyerson.
404 pages. You’re not supposed to see them, but when you do it gives a glimpse into how the small details are handled. Orlaith Wood on The Art of the Error Message.
I’d been using Calendly’s free version to let clients see my availability for video calls, but I switched to Cal.com (also free) as it has more options for different call lengths and for setting “out of office” times/days. Looks better, too — quick comparison:
Old: https://calendly.com/davidairey
New: https://cal.com/davidairey
Enjoyed this insight into the making of Resonay — a typeface by Andrej Dieneš.
If you’re visiting the north coast of Ireland and looking for accommodation, I highly recommend a night or two in Burrenmore Nest. Somewhere similar is Woodnest in the Norwegian woods (yet to visit Norway, though).
Jack Smyth specialises in book cover design and editorial illustration.
“We exist in an increasingly digital world and I think people respond to handmade work in a more engaged way. When the viewer sees the imperfections of something that hasn’t been perfected in the Adobe Suite, it communicates to them that another human has crafted this message for them and I think that’s an increasingly valuable voice to be speaking in.”
Yes.
More on 100 Archive.
Mucho designed a perfectly fitting logo for Ultraderp. Via
.A quote on life and death from the Spinoza newsletter:
“What difference does it make how early you leave, from a place you must leave sooner or later? Our concern should not be to live long, but to live intensely enough. For to live long, you need a favorable fate, but to live fully, you only need your own mind. Life is long when it is complete; and it becomes complete when the mind claims for itself what is good within it.”
Your photos
Two very kind readers I’ve come to know online, Carlos Yabar and Gianni Masciopinto. Be sure to connect with them on LinkedIn here — Carlos, Gianni.
If you’d like your website linked in an upcoming newsletter (10k+ subscribers) send a photo of yourself with my latest book (available on Amazon.com, .co.uk, .ca, etc.). Email to hello@identitydesigned.com.
Until next time
Hoping all’s well your side.
I'd keep the LOVE. "Logo Design" is generic and ubiquitous. "Love" lights it up with the alliteration, and it's punchy. You might be more tired of that wording than others are.
Would love to see (and read) that updated third edition, but at the same time very keen to see you exploring and sharing (maybe writing) something new?