Design Inspiration from the Alphabet Logo

Sometimes “getting back to basics” for inspiration involves going waaaaay back, even as far as preschool and the simplicity of the ABCs. I suppose you could find inspiration by finger painting—or eating paste, I imagine—but I prefer a good book for visual inspiration. The Alphabet Logo book is a collection of over 500 logos that incorporate individual letters into their designs. Published by Counter-Print, the book’s 228 pages feature the work of well-known agencies, such as Stockholm Design Lab, Hype Type Studio, and Pentagram.

Alphabet Logo joins Animal, Monogram, and Human in the publisher’s “Trademark & Symbols” series of books. The simplicity theme continues throughout this illustrated syllabary, with each letter’s logos laid out on the page, accompanied only by an identifying number. The designs themselves range from classy to clever to cliché. Melding typographic and illustrative elements in a logo can often be a delicate balancing act. This book provides real-world examples to steady you as you walk that line.