Marks of Excellence

Marks of Excellence (first published 1997) offers a rigorous exploration of the trademark: its history, development, style, classification and relevance in today's world. The book includes extensive discussion of its origins in heraldry, monograms, owner's marks and certificates of origins, and also contains a comprehensive taxonomy of trademarks and an alphabetical index of trademark themes. An invaluable reference tool for design students and graphic designers, the original book is packed with nearly 600 illustrations of both rare and instantly recognizable trademarks, logos, signs, advertisements, and the images that inspired them. This revised and expanded edition includes nearly 500 new images and 60 pages of new material, bringing the successful title right up to date. Whilst keeping much in common with the original book, this edition, in appearance and substance, adds so much that it will still appeal to owners of the old book.

“The definitive book on corporate branding.”

"Expanded with more than 500 new images and an additional 80 pages of material, Marks of Excellence is a great reference book for those working in branding, advertising, and design as well as those interested in the history of your favorite corporate word marks."—Selectism.com

"Phaidon's Marks of Excellence is a glossy homage to logos through the ages, backed up with trainspotter-ish annotated notes."—The Face

"Perfect for anyone who wants to start building their own global brand."—Wallpaper

"...A handsome book... Excellent..."—Creative Review

"Per Mollerup's beautiful yet pithy book."—Graphis

"The Danish designer, Per Mollerup, is a master of modern visual shorthand, and his perspective makes a refreshing change from the dominance of Anglo-American thought on the subject. His designs... are exemplary in their wit and economy."—Business and Design Newsletter (Chartered Society of Designers)

"[Per Mollerup] has assembled an exhaustive collection of marks, and backed up the images with some highly informative text. This is an excellent book whatever your philosophical position in design."—U & LC

"Marks of Excellence is another contribution to Phaidon's de luxe series on design and architecture which provides an appropriate platform for communicating through impeccable and generously reproduced images. The indulgence of the coffee-table format is combined in this book with an intelligent and comprehensive text to create a reading experience properly saturated with looking. The illustrations are presented in two ways. Firstly the text is regularly punctuated with opulent full-bleed spread... By contrast, illustrations are also supplied in a diagrammatic fashion... The book contributes to the concerns of design history and to existing texts on the subject. Mollerup's encyclopaedic overview provides an updated addition to more personal accounts by designers... Perhaps the most original portion of Marks of Excellence is the 'Taxonomy' which uses theories put forward in the preceding chapters to form a model by which we might understand how trademarks signify. This takes us beyond mere recognition or subjective response to a formalized level in which we may sort the 'letter marks' in a logo into a number of categories... The book may be used by students as an introduction to communication theory and as a good example of the application of such theories to graphic design practice. It will be useful to designers... as a self-proclaimed canon of approved design... For the general reader the book will usefully enhance perception and identification of the system, rules and techniques of communication through corporate identity."—Journal of Design History

"Unique... Marks of Excellence reflects this dedication to combining deep theory with surface beauty. Its 240 pages and 600 beautiful illustrations are both a feast for the eyes and an education in design."—Critique

Per Mollerup has had a varied career as a graphic designer, publisher, editor, author, and television producer. He is the founder of Designlab, a leading Scandinavian consultancy in visual communication, information design and corporate identity. Previously publisher and editor of the magazines Mobilia and Tools , he has produced television programmes and lectured internationally on design.

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