BAND ID
In the summer of 2006 I was hired by a band in L.A. to design a new logo, so I did what I what I usually do when I get any new job: I went to Hennesey & Ingalls in Santa Monica and scanned all of the design books for ideas and inspiration for my new project. There were a lot of books on CD packaging design, and plenty of books on album cover design, rock poster design, rock T-shirt design, and an overflow of general logo design books, but not one book solely on band logos. As a designer that consistently uses books for reference and inspiration, I was blown away that this book doesn’t already exist, but freakishly excited to discover that this book doesn’t already exist. All those years scribbling Van Halen and Metallica logos on my notebooks in school was finally going to pay off!
I spent the next year researching and collecting over 1000 logos, interviewing designers, writing stories, then curating and designing the 420 page BAND ID: The Ultimate Book of Band Logos. My good fiends at Chronicle Books were nice enough to publish it in April, 2008.
REVIEW from turntablelab.com:
Not only is Band ID the cleanest and most comprehensive collection of music logos I've ever come across, it also made me stop and think for the first time about a number of things - things like the true relation between a band's logo, its music and its identity, how a band's logo can endear or villify them to fans, and who the hell actually designed some of these things. This book's got it all, from the most forehead-slappingly obvious graphics (the immortal designs of bands like the Stones, Black Flag, Chicago, Motorhead, Yes, etc.) to the great lost/underappreciated logos of our time. The book is divided up by genre - Rock, Hair Bands, Heavy, Extra Heavy, Punk, Alternative, Pop, Hip-Hop, R&B, Country, Electronic, Reggae - and each logo has the year of design, record label and designer (where available) listed right underneath. Also includes interviews with Gerard Huerta, T42Design, Invisible Creature, Chris Bilheimer and more.
REVIEW from Abort Mag:
A merch mongers dream come true, a young musicians postered wall of hope, the bands, brands and logos contained in Bodhi Oser’s BAND ID has pretty much summed up how modern day corporations thrive on the unique connection between the buyer and the bedazzled music loving public. From the Stones “Tongue” to completely indecipherable Black Metal hieroglyphics, we are treated to a condign collection of rock, rap, metal, reggae, country and punk logos from the famous to the unbearable. Over 1000 logos spanning over 4 decades have been mulled together, the book delves into the origins of classics such as Slayer, Wu-Tang Clan, The Grateful Dead, Spinal Tap, Led Zeppelin, Public Enemy, AC/DC and many of the iconic trademarks that have served more purpose on a T-shirt than on the desk of any record label exec.
Created by California artist Bodhi Oser known for his skate and surf work in the corporate world, he and Tacoma, WA. artist Art Chandry, have struck gold with an incurably simplistic approach. Big, bold and brazenly in-your-face, the genres flow from page to page and no reader over 21 could possibly not connect with at least one childhood memory in the form of one band’s identity. A coffee table book for musicians and industry folk alike, it even has a giant raised guitar pick, that one cannot help but caress for hours on end. Oh yes, I am having sex with this book in case you are wondering, and I don’t care who knows it.
I spent the next year researching and collecting over 1000 logos, interviewing designers, writing stories, then curating and designing the 420 page BAND ID: The Ultimate Book of Band Logos. My good fiends at Chronicle Books were nice enough to publish it in April, 2008.
REVIEW from turntablelab.com:
Not only is Band ID the cleanest and most comprehensive collection of music logos I've ever come across, it also made me stop and think for the first time about a number of things - things like the true relation between a band's logo, its music and its identity, how a band's logo can endear or villify them to fans, and who the hell actually designed some of these things. This book's got it all, from the most forehead-slappingly obvious graphics (the immortal designs of bands like the Stones, Black Flag, Chicago, Motorhead, Yes, etc.) to the great lost/underappreciated logos of our time. The book is divided up by genre - Rock, Hair Bands, Heavy, Extra Heavy, Punk, Alternative, Pop, Hip-Hop, R&B, Country, Electronic, Reggae - and each logo has the year of design, record label and designer (where available) listed right underneath. Also includes interviews with Gerard Huerta, T42Design, Invisible Creature, Chris Bilheimer and more.
REVIEW from Abort Mag:
A merch mongers dream come true, a young musicians postered wall of hope, the bands, brands and logos contained in Bodhi Oser’s BAND ID has pretty much summed up how modern day corporations thrive on the unique connection between the buyer and the bedazzled music loving public. From the Stones “Tongue” to completely indecipherable Black Metal hieroglyphics, we are treated to a condign collection of rock, rap, metal, reggae, country and punk logos from the famous to the unbearable. Over 1000 logos spanning over 4 decades have been mulled together, the book delves into the origins of classics such as Slayer, Wu-Tang Clan, The Grateful Dead, Spinal Tap, Led Zeppelin, Public Enemy, AC/DC and many of the iconic trademarks that have served more purpose on a T-shirt than on the desk of any record label exec.
Created by California artist Bodhi Oser known for his skate and surf work in the corporate world, he and Tacoma, WA. artist Art Chandry, have struck gold with an incurably simplistic approach. Big, bold and brazenly in-your-face, the genres flow from page to page and no reader over 21 could possibly not connect with at least one childhood memory in the form of one band’s identity. A coffee table book for musicians and industry folk alike, it even has a giant raised guitar pick, that one cannot help but caress for hours on end. Oh yes, I am having sex with this book in case you are wondering, and I don’t care who knows it.