Two new books examine the art of the logo, from corporate coherence to rock excess

These days, social media is awash with budding graphic designers giving their opinion every time a new corporate identity comes to town, often turning their hand to shaping an alternative in a matter of seconds. Pentagram’s 1,000 Marks is the professionals fighting back, a relentless parade of one thousand individual brand marks designed over the agency’s long history.

1,000 Marks by Pentagram – brand logos explored

Here you’ll find everything from organic food producers to massive multinationals, supermarkets, museums, even countries, condensed down into a stark black and white typographical graphic symbol, logo or word mark. It’s a masterclass in concision, an alphabetical journey through the history of our age.

Presented almost without context – just name, date and sector – there’s a wealth of inspiration here for designers, as well as providing a useful reference to ensure there’s no ‘accidental’ homages or outright steals.

Logo Rhythm: Band Logos that Rocked the World

Stealing identities is rarely, if ever, a problem in the world of music design. In Logo Rhythm: Band Logos that Rocked the World, the writer Jim K Davies chronicles the origin of some of the most graphically arresting and familiar symbols in popular culture.

Davies delves into 100 different logos and their origin stories, from tie-ins with name designers through to the work of graphically-inclined band members and artists with a holistic and overarching view of how to present themselves. With band Ts evolving into context-free fashion items, Logo Rhythm is a welcome reminder of the cultural milieu that gave rise to these now-familiar marks.

1,000 Marks: Pentagram, Angus Hyland, Thames & Hudson, £35, ThamesandHudson.com, Amazon.co.uk

Logo Rhythm: Band Logos that Rocked the World, Jim K Davies, designed by Jamie Ellul, Circa Press, £55, Circa.Press, Amazon.co.uk