Renowned graphic designer David Airey, born in Bangor, Northern Ireland, and currently residing in Edinburgh, Scotland, runs a design blog called LogoDesignLove, that lots of people out there, well, love. He was kind enough to take some time out of his busy schedule to answer a few questions about his new book titled ”Logo Design Love: A Guide to Creating Iconic Brand Identities“. 

1. You set out to create “a guide for designers (and clients) who want to understand what this mysterious business is all about”.>

As an industry niche publication that targets professionals who may have a shelf full of “Logo Books”, how did you go about creating a book that teaches something about identity design to what one might think is already a very knowledgeable audience?

David Airey: A good question, and I certainly don’t profess to know everything there is to know. The foundation of the book is my personal design process, and as designers can attest, the process can be quite a personal practice. There’s also advice from leading designers around the world, which I thought would raise the bar.

By the way, that quote you mention isn’t mine. It was coined by AIGA Medalist Tom Geismar after he read the content. You can read what else he had to say on my book’s reviews page.

2. From speaking with another sage in the contemporary Logo/ID design field —Armin Vit— I learned that an enormous group of people out there can get very fiery about (re?)branding.

How would you say the feedback you have experienced has been in the years that you’ve been publishing articles on LogoDesignLove.com?

DA: The feedback on the Logo Design Love website? Overall, it’s been fantastic, and I’m sure I’d have stopped publishing new content over there if people weren’t interested. Keeping davidairey.com updated is a task on its own, but on both sites I talk about my passion (graphic design), which definitely helps keep me motivated.

3. Is there anything in particular the book would give the reader that the website has not or can not?

DA: The book offers a systematic look at the identity design process, from start to finish—from asking clients the right questions to presenting ideas in a way that helps bring the committee on board. That’s not something readers of the website can easily follow, and there’s a lot of new content in the book, too.

4. With all of this writing online and in print, do you get around to designing yourself anymore? If so,any particular projects you’d be interested in telling us about.

DA: I stopped working with clients whilst writing the book, and as such, I took a cut in earnings. It was a project I wanted to accomplish, though, and I’d previously saved enough money to keep me going regardless of an income.

Now the book’s published, I’m back working with some excellent companies from around the world, with one identity project already complete (a Canadian firm), and two more ongoing (one in Luxembourg, the other in the United States). I’ll talk about them in more detail on davidairey.com when I get a chance to create new portfolio additions, and after the identities are launched by my clients.

5. Were there any major themes you thought after you released the book to the printer, that you are simply itching to write about next? In other words, can we expect a sequel?

DA: I’m not sure about a sequel, but writing another design book is definitely a consideration. I’ve not thought too much about a specific topic. Suggestions are more than welcome.

Thanks David!
Buy the book here and support both LogoDesignLove and this website all in one purchase: