Bodhi Oser’s Band ID: The Ultimate Book of Band Logos is a handsome compendium of well, band logos. Beginning with what is perhaps the ultimate music icon, the Rolling Stones lips, this chunky coffee-table book presents hundreds and hundreds of logos, arranged by genre (there is a band index, so you can look for your favourites). Given Oser’s background, it comes as no surprise that punk and metal (in the ‘heavy’ and ‘extra heavy’ varieties, a nice typographer’s joke) are particularly well represented, including short essays on both the Dead Kennedys and the Black Flag logos. There are also a number of other essays and interviews with designers of influential logos. The main appeal of this book lies squarely in the intersection between music nerd and graphic design geek (guilty as charged…) but the emotional resonance of the images will speak to anyone who’s ever worn a button or a patch, put a sticker on their binder or carved a logo into a desk. This book might be closing a chapter of graphic design history, though – with the rise of YouTube and MP3s, it’s not clear that logos will ever be integral to band identities again.
Check out the preview [PDF].
Previously: Read: Dan Kennedy, Rock On; Read: This is Your Brain on Music; Read: Love is a Mix Tape
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