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Marks of Excellence: The History and Taxonomy of Trademarks Hardcover – Illustrated, May 14, 2013

by Per Mollerup (Author)
4.4 out of 5 stars 40 ratings
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Marks of Excellence (first published in 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.

The text covers every aspect of the trademark, its history, development, style, classification and relevance in today's world. A brief history is given of the origins of the trademark in heraldry, monograms, owner's marks and certificates of origin. The proceeding chapters explore corporate identity and communication design with an emphasis on sign theory. The core of the book is a comprehensive classification of trademarks covering name marks, abbreviations and all kinds of picture marks. This is followed by an alphabetical index of trademark themes from animals to word puzzles. The index is illustrated by a selection of the world's best trademarks - the marks of excellence from which this book takes its name. The final section of the book covers the development of trademarks over time and across the boundaries of language and space.

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 will include at least 500 new images and 80 pages of new material, bringing this successful title right up to date.

Whilst keeping much in common with the original book, this edition will, in appearance and substance add so much that it will appeal to content owners of the old book. A monumental volume with respect to the sphere of graphic design, this book is just as absorbing for anyone interested in any aspect of visual communication.
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  1. Print length
    296 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Phaidon Press
  4. Publication date
    May 14, 2013
  5. Dimensions
    10.25 x 1.38 x 12 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0714864749
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0714864747
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"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

About the Author

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.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Phaidon Press
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ May 14, 2013
  • Edition ‏ : ‎ 2nd
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 296 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0714864749
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0714864747
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 4.8 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 10.25 x 1.38 x 12 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.4 out of 5 stars 40 ratings

About the authors

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  1. Per Mollerup

    Per Mollerup

    Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
    Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

    Per Mollerup is Professor of Communication Design at Swinburne University of Technology. Before that he was Professor of Design at The Oslo National Academy of the Arts, Oslo, Norway.

    1984-2009 Per Mollerup ran Designlab, an award-winning design office in Copenhagen.

    Per Mollerup holds a doctorate from the University of Lund, Sweden, and an MBA from Aarhus University, Denmark.

    Per Mollerup writes about design and designs most of his books himself.

    Favourite quote:

    Whatever can be said, can be said clearly. Ludwig Wittgenstein.

    Per Mollerup's book titles include

    Marks of Excellence: The history and taxonomy of trademarks

    Collapsibles: An Album of Space-Saving Objects

    Wayshowing: A Guide to Environmental Signage

    BrandBook: Branding, Feelings, Reason

    Wayshowing>Wayfinding: Basic & Interactive

    Data Design: Visualising Quantities, Locations, Connections

    Simplicity: A Matter of Design

    See more on the author's page
  2. Per Mollerup

    Per Mollerup

    Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
    Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

    Discover more of the author’s books, see similar authors, read book recommendations and more.

    See more on the author's page
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4.4 out of 5 stars
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Top reviews from the United States

  • Alice
    5.0 out of 5 stars Great go-to branding reference
    Reviewed in the United States on March 7, 2019
    Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase
    Love the technicalities on brand exploration of this book.
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  • Mikhail
    5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
    Reviewed in the United States on October 3, 2017
    Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase
    Excellent book, excellent quality.
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  • SalteaCosplay
    4.0 out of 5 stars Best on Arrival
    Reviewed in the United States on August 7, 2013
    Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase
    I needed this book for class and it came in perfect condition. The price was the best out there for this book it's was more than 25% off!
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  • Nicholas Cokas
    5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
    Reviewed in the United States on September 8, 2015
    Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase
    Incredibly thorough and complete book.
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  • RachelAZD
    3.0 out of 5 stars Title is a little misleadingTM
    Reviewed in the United States on February 15, 2025
    Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase
    It’s more about logos and wordmarks than it really is trademarks. So more design-driven than I was expecting. But it’s a pretty book.
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  • Amazon Customer
    5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
    Reviewed in the United States on May 23, 2016
    Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase
    good!
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  • Rob Hardy
    5.0 out of 5 stars A Handsome Compendium of Trademarks
    Reviewed in the United States on August 6, 2013
    Format: Hardcover
    There is no more concentrated form of human communication than a trademark. Symbols like the Golden Arches, the script of Coca-Cola, the swoosh of Nike communicate (and often do it without words or letters) not only the name of the company, but emotions connected with the company and its products. You see hundreds of trademarks every day, and so does almost everyone else worldwide (and even if letters and words are used, the trademark symbolism transcends language barriers). Fifteen years ago, design consultant Per Mollerup brought out a volume about trademarks, and now it is enlarged and expanded in a second edition, _Marks of Excellence: The History and Taxonomy of Trademarks_ (Phaidon). Large format, with illustrations on every page, this is a graphic text as befits its subject; but Mollerup has included text and notes about the origins, semiotics, purpose, and more, of trademarks. The marks themselves are the show, and the book is a satisfying display of graphic design.

    Trademarks are so universal, Mollerup says, that kids can look at the logo and say "Coca-Cola" before they can read, and adults can read the logo faster than they can read the words typed out. Trademarks are visual identifiers permitting fast identification. Objects were first marked to show ownership, but also started being marked to indicate a maker. The most extensive part of the book is the one on motifs, like the pages on bird trademarks. They are naturals, of course, for airlines. There is the Lufthansa bird in flight, of which Mollerup says, "This bird was the result of a competition held in 1919. It was first used on an aircraft in 1920 and has never been grounded!" There are birds of different design for Singapore or American Airlines, but there is a penguin for books and one for clothing. There's a dove for soap, a peacock for NBC, and a happy, chattering blue bird silhouette for Twitter. It is fun to see on these pages just how many ways a bird can be drawn as a symbol and how simplified a design can be and still obviously be a bird. You can find many other living things used as starting points for trademarks. "Who would choose a scorpion for a trademark motif?" asks Mollerup, and answers by showing the shield-shaped trademark for a firm of racing cars, whose founder was a Scorpio, "and he thought that nobody would copy a scorpion." Of course the camel of Camel Cigarettes is here, not only in his picture on the package, but in his photo. There was a real camel, named "Old Joe," owned by Barnum & Bailey whose picture was taken in 1913. R. J. Reynolds himself drew the camel from the photo. If you are looking for graphics with no origin in nature, check out the pages on arrows. Arrows are used in trademarks for things going places, like British Rail or Amtrak. There is a famous hidden arrow within the letters that spell out FedEx. Amazon has an arrow, to indicate everything from its A to its Z, a smiling arrow (and does no one but me appreciate how phallic it is?). Crosses, too, are here, and are not exclusive to the Christian faith. There's one on Swissair, for instance, and on all those Swiss Army knives. There's a cross with a zipper down it, halfway opened, for Richman's Zipper Hospital. And then there is the crossed logo of Bayer vertical and Bayer horizontal. If you like stars, you can find them in the Texaco logo, and the one for Converse shoes. There is also a company called Star Semen, which sells semen from star bulls. Their star looks for all the world as if it has, stylized and not anatomically correct, testicles. A simple graphic is powerful. The logo for Pirelli does not depict a tire, but the bowl of the initial P is pulled out over the rest of the word, to show elasticity.

    Part of the fun of looking at these pages is how familiar so many of these trademarks are, and realizing how effortlessly they register within the beholder's consciousness. Part is seeing how an infinite variety of trademarks can be generated given the limited graphic canvas on which they must be constructed. Another part is to realize the power of image, with all the questions it raises of style versus substance. _Marks of Excellence_ is good-looking, thoughtful, and thought-provoking.
    7 people found this helpful
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  • HH
    4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent reference
    Reviewed in the United States on August 29, 2014
    Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase
    Excellent reference for Trademarks, logo and identity.
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Top reviews from other countries

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  • BV
    5.0 out of 5 stars OK
    Reviewed in France on September 27, 2020
    Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase
    OK
    Report
  • TEAMWORK EDUCATION FOUNDATION
    5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
    Reviewed in India on September 29, 2017
    Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase
    great book
    Report
  • KikiDee
    4.0 out of 5 stars Ich suche immer noch...
    Reviewed in Germany on August 18, 2019
    Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase
    Das Buch ist gut - aber ich hatte eine etwas andere Erwartung. Ich suche ein Buch, in dem man die Entwicklung von Logos sehen kann. Das gibt es nicht her. Trotzdem sehr interessant.
    Report
  • Serena
    5.0 out of 5 stars Indispensabile
    Reviewed in Italy on June 4, 2023
    Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase
    Un must have per i grafici, grande e ricco di contenuti, è utile per ispirazioni e fa anche la sua figura
    Report
  • Jacopo Zane
    5.0 out of 5 stars Stupendo
    Reviewed in Italy on May 7, 2020
    Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase
    Stupendo
    Report