Winter 2025

Band practice [EXTRACT]

Logo Rhythm

By Jim K. Davies and Jamie Ellul Published by Circa Press £55, $75

Designers’ shelves heave with books about sleeve design, but few authors have taken the trouble to research and document the dark art of the rock band logo. Logo Rhythm (Circa Press, £55, $75) by writer / editor Jim K. Davies and designer Jamie Ellul (Supple Studio) addresses the subject with relish, revealing the sometimes unexpected origin stories behind the wordmarks. Tom Robinson (whose TRB logo, right, designed by Roger Huddle, still packs a punch), points out in his foreword that this is ‘the first book to recognise and celebrate band logos as a cultural phenomenon.’

We learn that Run-DMC’s enduring logo (above), with its sturdy red rules and Franklin Gothic Bold caps, was designed by the UK team at Island Records. Fiona Skinner, now head of design at daytime ITV, designed the logo for The The. Cartoonist Hunt Emerson devised the neat ‘Beat Girl’ image and logo for The Beat.

Unlike corporations or magazines, bands rarely stick with one logo, often changing with each album. And when bands do adopt a house style, it can be a while before a single iteration becomes ‘official’. In many cases, a well crafted professional logo is superseded by the one the fans want …

John L. Walters, Eye editor, London

Read the full version in Eye no. 107 vol. 27, 2025

Eye is the world’s most beautiful and collectable graphic design journal, published for professional designers, students and anyone interested in critical, informed writing about graphic design and visual culture. It is available from all good design bookshops and online at the Eye shop, where you can buy subscriptions and single issues.