5 Curated Books for Graphic Designer
As we are in self-isolation, we are curating a list of books for you to read and not miss out on the lack of outside entertainment.
Our team has put together and selected the best recommendations of great books to read while you’re under the corona virus quarantine.
1. Logo Modernism
This unprecedented TASCHEN publication, authored by Jens Müller, brings together approximately 6,000 trademarks, focused on the period 1940–1980, to examine how modernist attitudes and imperatives gave birth to corporate identity. Ranging from media outfits to retail giants, airlines to art galleries, the sweeping survey is organized into three design-orientated chapters: Geometric, Effect, and Typographic. Each chapter is then sub-divided into form and style led sections such as alphabet, overlay, dots and squares.
Alongside the comprehensive catalog, the book features an introduction from Jens Müller on the history of logos, and an essay by R. Roger Remington on modernism and graphic design. Eight designer profiles and eight instructive case studies are also included, with a detailed look at the life and work of such luminaries as Paul Rand, Yusaku Kamekura, and Anton Stankowski, and at such significant projects as Fiat, The Daiei Inc., and the Mexico Olympic Games of 1968. An unrivaled resource for graphic designers, advertisers, and branding specialists, Logo Modernism is equally fascinating to anyone interested in social, cultural, and corporate history, and in the sheer persuasive power of image and form.
2. Steal Like an Artist: 10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative
By Austin Kleon
An inspiring guide to creativity in the digital age, Steal Like an Artist presents ten transformative principles that will help readers discover their artistic side and build a more creative life.
Nothing is original, so embrace influence, school yourself through the work of others, remix and reimagine to discover your own path. Follow interests wherever they take you—what feels like a hobby may turn into you life’s work. Forget the old cliché about writing what you know: Instead, write the book you want to read, make the movie you want to watch.
And finally, stay Smart, stay out of debt, and risk being boring in the everyday world so that you have the space to be wild and daring in your imagination and your work.
3. Grid systems in graphic design
By Josef Müller-Brockmann
A grid system is a rigid framework that is supposed to help graphic designers in the meaningful, logical and consistent organization of information on a page. It is an established tool that is used by print and web designers to create well-structured, balanced designs. Rudimentary versions of grid systems existed since the medieval times, but a group of Swiss graphic designers, mostly inspired in ideas from typographical literature started building a more rigid and coherent system for page layout. The core of these ideas were first presented by Müller-Brockmann who helped to spread the knowledge about the grids thorough the world. This volume provides guidelines and rules for the function and use for grid systems from 8 to 32 grid fields which can be used for the most varied of projects, the three-dimensional grid being treated as well. Exact directions for using all of the grid systems possibe presented are given to the user, showing examples of working correctly on a conceptual level.
4. Thinking with Type
By Ellen Lupton
A grid system is a rigid framework that is supposed to help graphic designers in the meaningful, logical and consistent organization of information on a page. It is an established tool that is used by print and web designers to create well-structured, balanced designs. Rudimentary versions of grid systems existed since the medieval times, but a group of Swiss graphic designers, mostly inspired in ideas from typographical literature started building a more rigid and coherent system for page layout. The core of these ideas were first presented by Müller-Brockmann who
5. The Elements of Typographic Style
Renowned typographer and poet Robert Bringhurst brings clarity to the art of typography with this masterful style guide. Combining the practical, theoretical, and historical, this edition is completely updated, with a thorough revision and updating of the longest chapter, “Prowling the Specimen Books,” and many other small but important updates based on things that are continually changing in the field.
Beethoven’s stamp collection
Beethoven’s stamp collection on his 250th anniversary is an eye-catcher.
The graphic designs reflect the vibrancy of his music as he had shocked many and that is reflected in the stamps.
Each of Beethoven’s music and his portrait of approximately his age at the time he composed it, is the central element of the stamp.
All the graphics and designs are eye-catching, Hexachrome printing has been used to give the images a “punch of color”; a type of printing that uses six colors instead of the usual four.
All-natural elements have been used while they are also producing a limited edition of excerpts from his music.
The whole collection is getting Beethoven’s imagination to life.
What Logo Size is Best? Guidelines for Websites, Social + Print
A logo has a massive impact on the perception of your company, so it’s crucial to keep it looking crisp wherever it’s used. When you embark on your branding journey, you may be wondering, “What size should my logo be?”
The answer? It varies.
The standard size of a logo depends on the platform you’re uploading it to. For example, a YouTube profile photo is 800 pixels x 800 pixels, whereas a logo for a website or email signature usually has a maximum height of 100 pixels. Having easy-to-resize PNG and vector files will help you adapt your logo accordingly.
To ensure logo design works in different mediums, here’s a list of logo size guidelines so you can display your brand seamlessly across the web, social media, print, and more.
Leave your company’s mark on the world and make sure it looks damn good, wherever it’s displayed!
Logo sizing basics
Although every logo is unique, the sizes in which you save and share them are not. Great logos can be resized, and quickly produced across hundreds of different contexts. Having different logo variations is essential for your business, as it allows you to comfortably fit your logo into every application that you need it.
Whether you want your logo on a business card, or on an ad in Times Square, it needs to be scalable. This means that if you did end up putting your logo on a giant billboard, it would still look clean and detailed (not pixelated).
Here are a few logo sizing basics:
- Logos are measured in pixels, which means you’ll often see them referred to in dimensions like 500px by 500px. Pixels = dimensions, whereas bytes (KB/MB/GB) = the file size.
- Vector files are necessary, as they’ll act as master files you can infinitely scale (like SVG), edit, or send to a designer or printer. They’re created in programs like Adobe Illustrator, and can then be converted to any other file format that you need, such as PNGs or JPGs.
- Horizontal, vertical, and square versions of your logo are good to have. These variations allow you to place your logo wherever you see fit; for example, a billboard, backdrop, website, business card, or T-shirt.
- Use a PNG file to display your logo online that’s less than 200KB, ensuring fast load times while remaining detailed and sharp! PNGs are lossless compressed files, which allows them to maintain a lot of quality while having a relatively small file size. They also allow for transparency/transparent backgrounds and are great for social media, websites, and most other web use cases.
- A brand guidelines document outlines where and how a logo can be displayed, and at what file dimensions. This allows your brand to remain consistent across all communications. The minimum logo dimensions for the web should not dip below 24px in height, and not be above half of the screen size.
Logo sizes for website
A website is a critical part of any business. This is where people can learn more about what you do, your company vision, and gauge if they’re interested in buying whatever it is you’re selling or promoting.
The best logo size for a website really depends on how and where it’s going to be displayed, though we recommend using a PNG file.
The most common areas to display a logo on a website are in the top banner/header, and the favicon (the small icon next to your address bar or the title on your browser tab).
Using a logo in your website header
Most companies display a logo on the left-hand side of the top navbar. This allows the brand to be present on all pages of the website. If you’re using a website builder like Squarespace or Weebly, you’ll have an option to add in the logo to this spot.
The logo size for your website header, as well as the positioning, will depend on the website builder and theme you’re using. For example, Squarespace’s Bedford family of themes requires logos with a maximum height of 100px for desktop.
The average height of a website logo is typically between 20px and 30px, while the width often varies depending on how long the brand name is. See how ChefHero uses their logotype and icon in their navigation bar below:
Using a logo in your favicon
Favicons allow your brand to be present in the search bar, allowing customers and leads to tab back and forth between your site and others easily. These images tend to be just the icon that represents your brand, as they are too small to read any text. Standard favicon sizes for browsers are 16px x 16px.
See how ChefHero does it below with their chef hat symbol as their favicon:
Whether your website is custom coded, or you’re using a template from a website builder, display your logo using a PNG file.
Logo sizes for social media
Social Media is one of the most prominent applications for displaying your logo. Whether your company is looking to win over customers with epic product shots on Instagram, or start meaningful conversations over Twitter, social is a great place to connect, promote, and advertise.
When displaying your logo on social there are different applications to consider, such as profile photos, cover photos and banners, and actual image posts.
Profile photos tend to be circular or square, banners are more narrow and rectangular, while image posts can be square, horizontal, or even vertical depending on the style you’re going for!
There are many different aspect ratios to consider, but we’re going to break down the basics to get you started.
Logo dimensions on Instagram:
Profile photo (circular): 110 x 110px
Logo dimensions on Facebook:
Profile photo (square): 160 х 160px
Cover photo: 1640 x 624px
Logo dimensions on YouTube:
Profile photo (circular): 800 x 800px
Thumbnail photo: 1280 x 720px
Cover photo: 2560 x 1440px
Logo dimensions on Twitter:
Profile photo (circular): 400 x 400px
Cover photo: 1500 х 1500px
Logo dimensions on LinkedIn:
Profile photo (circular): 400 х 400 px
Cover photo: 646 x 220px
Logo dimensions on Pinterest:
Profile photo (circular): 165 x 165px
Logo dimensions on Google+:
Profile photo (circular): 250 х 250px
Cover photo: 2120 x 1192px
When posting on social, it’s best to use PNG files, as they’re a lossless compressed format. Similar exports like JPG files are lossy compressed, meaning the file size may be a bit smaller than a PNG, but the quality also decreases, leaving some logos looking pixelated or “soft.”
When possible, use a PNG logo file for posting on social!
Logo sizes for print
Speaking of putting your logo on a T-shirt, there are many different print applications to promote your brand. From brochures, business cards, and posters, to clothing, packaging, and mugs, and various options for the logo to shine.
To keep your logo looking consistent across web and print applications, you need to send your printing provider the correct files. Here are some logo sizes for print:
- The maximum size that can be screen printed on a T-shirt is usually 14’’ x 15’’
- On an 11 oz. mug, the standard print size area is 8.5″ x 3″
- On an average hat, the logo size is around 3″- 3 1/2″ wide
If you’re planning on printing your logo onto something, first check with your provider about standard print sizes so you can send them the correct files. Most providers will also request a vector-based file so that the logo can be scaled up or down without losing any quality.
Vector files have a CMYK color mode — Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Black — which is what’s required for printing, versus a HEX color code, which is used online.
Logo sizes for email signatures
Email signatures are a great place to display your logo. It’s just another place to help further display and promote your brand, and it’s especially important if you’re sending a lot of emails!
All email signature sizes should be in a PNG file format that doesn’t exceed 10KB. If you know where your audience is most commonly opening their emails, this can help to dictate the ideal size to display your logo.
A general rule is to make your signature image no larger than 320px wide, and 70–100px high. Most mobile devices are typically between 320px and 500px wide, so this will ensure your logo looks great on all mobile screens!
Depending on what email service you’re using, there will often be templates or guidelines to help you figure out what size works best with their service.
Logo variations and lockups
Having more logo variations the versatility of where and how your brand can be displayed. Brands often have both a distinctive wordmark (the typography), as well as a unique symbol (the image), which allows them to use the elements together, or separately, to represent their brand.
For example, the logo you have as your Facebook profile photo may vary from the logo you want to print on a T-shirt or use at the end of a video advertisement, though they all represent the same company.
What types of logo variations are we talking about?
- Color variations:black, white, inverse, full color/multi-variations of color, or transparent background
- Wordmark and symbol variations (also called logo lockups): full logo, logotype/wordmark, a logo with slogan, logo without the slogan, symbol, or monogram
If you want to make a white T-shirt for your brand, then you may want to print your company icon in full color with a transparent background.
Or, if you’re then you may want a white transparent version of your full logo to place on a black background.
All logo variations should be delivered when you purchase a logo; whether that’s through working with a designer or agency, or using an online logo maker or logo templates.
Mastering logo sizes
As you can see, there’s no “one perfect size” for a logo. To guarantee your brand looks great across all platforms, devices, and applications, you need to be aware of what logo file type and sizes and variations work best in each setting.
We hope you can reference this guide going forward, and ensure your logo always looks sharp! If you didn’t find what you’re looking for, let us know what logo size you’re searching for using the blue chat box in the bottom right-hand corner of the screen.
Happy brand-building!
