Review: Logo Design for Small Business 2 - A Designer’s Reference Guide to Practical Logo Design

It may be a bit odd for me to reviewing a book that includes quite a few examples of my own work. However, with my own logo designs in over 70 books at this point. my selection of logo design volumes to consider for review might end up being somewhat limited.

Dan Antonelli does not disappoint the logo designer with Logo Design for Small Business 2, the follow-up to his first book, Logo Design for Small Business. Antonelli preaches what he practices. I appreciate the fact he is educated as a designer, has worked in the industry for a number of years and is in business as a sign maker. He understands, and is able to convey, what a designer needs to accomplish – and, from his own unique perspective, what a vendor needs as a final product. The author provides a great deal of advice in regards to the business of logo design for small businesses, as well as displaying examples from a variety of designers for inspiration.

Don’t be put off by the rather short length of this book – it’s 72 pages of useful information. Those just starting out in logo design will benefit from the excellent advice of Antonelli. For seasoned pros the book is a reminder of many things we should consider in our day to day designing of identities. All logo designers will recoup the cost of the book on the first project produced after reading the book – and it should be on the reference bookshelf of anyone interested in the design of logos.

My designs highlighted in the volume include the identity for my own company Jeff Fisher LogoMotives and numerous Portland businesses, including Balloons on Broadway, Black Dog Furniture Designs, the hair salon Diva, Janet Loughrey Horticulture Photography, hair stylist Jeff Maul,Joy Creek Nursery, Monroe Orthodontics, the North Bank Cafe, Thomas F. Fallon Architect, TraveLady Media, W.C. Winks Hardware and the personal chef/catering firm What's for Dinner? Seattle small businesses represented include the restaurant Glo's Broiler and writer Kimberly Waters. The identities for restaurants Crossings at the Riverhouse, located in Bend, OR, and New York's former Indies Restaurant & Bar are also displayed. Other featured businesses include DataDork (Fontana, CA), DesignEire (Dublin, Ireland), Buttonberry Books (Lebanon, NJ) and KidstuffPR.com (Black Earth, WI).

© 2005 Jeff Fisher LogoMotives

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