Book of Branding is Radim Malinic’s third book released on 11th Nov 2019, and it looks just as gorgeous if not more as his previous two books.
In March 2016, Radim Malinic released his debut publication, Book of Ideas, which reached number one in Amazon’s graphic arts section. The book has helped novices and professionals across the world including myself find a new way of approaching their creative work. A follow-up in the series, Book of Ideas Volume 2, was released in September 2018 and surly did not disappoint.
Radim’s new Book of Branding includes 256 pure eye candy pages including pictures of Radim’s work, plus invaluable content and inspirational advice and words of wisdom from the man himself.
I would personally like to thanks Radim for sending us an advanced signed copy of the book it’s been a thoroughly enjoyable read that I highly recommend reading and owning as its one of those books you will go back to time and time again.
Before we jump into the content of this amazing book let’s take a look at the cover design.
If you’re familiar with Radim’s previous book then upon first glance from a distance you know this is a Brand Nu publication and designed by Radim Malinic as it oozes sophistication and passionate craftsmanship… it’s a creative visual treat!.
The first thing that stands out to me is the lovely green colour on cover which complements the gold foiled text which in my opinion adds a really prestige and premium look to the book.
Before I have even handled the book it just looks so dam good!
Upon holding the book you get that very familiar smooth silky premium feel and the all too familiar unique fresh book smell I have only ever experienced from Radim’s books, and it just seems to last forever as the other book of Ideas still have that marvelous aroma to them years later.
Another interesting and nice element to the books cover design I like is the shiny logos that Radim has designed that can been seen shining on the packaging within the covers display.
I think this is a great addition and inclusion to the design of the cover, and really does set the tone for what you are about to read.
Let’s now dive in and marvel at the content of the Book of Branding by Radim Malinic.
To outline Book of Branding is set to be an essential addition to the startup toolkit — a guide designed for entrepreneurs, founders, designers, brand creators and anyone seeking to decode the complicated world of brand identity design.
The conversational, jargon-free tone within the book aims to help the reader understand the essential elements of the brand identity process. Offering Radims first-hand experience, insights and tips throughout; it includes real-life and exceptional case studies of Radims work that are used to show how great, collaborative work can be achieved.
Book of Branding works for and with new businesses and individuals alike, showing why visual identity is the beating heart of a great brand strategy.
The book is divided into four sections as Radim a globally recognised designer breaks down and guides you through Planning, Process, Application and his Advice making it an easy to follow step by step process from the planning stage to the brand identity creation and application. It’s ideal for designers working on developing and fine-tuning their process or any start-up business looking to understand the power of branding.
Radim Malinic says “Book of Branding aims to show designers how to get the information you need to understand the project and make it the best it can be; as well as providing those on the client-side with advice on how to get the best out of the creatives you’re working with.”
Malinic continues “This book was formed from my own experiences of working with businesses of all sizes—especially the smaller startups, which need a tailor-fit brand identity to succeed—and the majority of the work showcased here has been created for businesses run by teams of just two or three people.”
Throughout the book’s sections the layout is the same as the previous two books which is amazing to look at as one page features the title and the topic discussed while the other side features those beautiful pictures of Radim’s work breaking up the content which is easier to digest making the books reading experience a total pleasure.
I cannot recommend this book enough all of Radim’s book are simply amazing, and owning all three is a must for all designers and creatives alike.
I have been inspired by Radim and his work over the years, and with each new book release it’s a wonderful insightful experience and creative visual adventure you just don’t want to end!.
We interviewed Radim about the process of the book, design principles, mental health issues, and his thoughts on generalising vs specialising in graphic design.
The Logo Creative – Your first two books “Book of Ideas” and “Book of Ideas Vol2” were very successful and popular in the design industry. Where did the ideas and inspiration come from to write the Book of Branding?
Radim Malinic – After the first two full-length books, I wanted to park the Book of Ideas series for a while. As I have been making notes for the last few years, I sketched out ideas for my next three books. I decided to make the Book of Branding as the next title in the series. I did a load of book market research during the spring of last year, both in the available content and sales numbers. I wanted to add my own take on the subject to the design bookshelf.
The actual book is a result of a decade long collaboration by helping people and startups making something out of nothing. The role of a designer isn’t merely about sitting quietly at your desk and making stuff, hoping that people will love it without any other engagement or interaction. As a creative director, my role can sometimes be everything but a designer – from a friend to confidant, from adviser to strategist and many more other ‘roles’. For such reasons, I’ve been perfecting the human part of the creative process to ensure the work is bold, courageous and mainly enjoyable. After having previous experience of being an employee designer, I had enough of creating work that was just about getting signed off.
The whole process felt very disconnected throughout. When I set up on my own, I wanted to find ways to be able to turn mine and my client’s ambitions into reality, every single time. I wanted to share that process and give out all my tips and insights. To showcase that this type of work can be enjoyed and fruitful. With the latest book, I just joined many different dots, and they became the latest book, Book of Branding.
The Logo Creative – How long was the process to complete the Book of Branding, and was there an unexpected challenge or hurdle along the way?
Radim Malinic – I don’t go ahead with a book project unless I’ve fully validated the idea. Every book starts with a lot of notes that I make on my iPhone over the long periods of time. When I feel I have the right outline of sections and chapters, only then I proceed into the next stage. For this book, I rewrote the whole backbone at least twice, maybe even three times. It wasn’t right, so I kept going until it made sense.
The production of writing, edit, design and prepress took about three to four months. This was alongside regular client work and family life. Luckily, this being book no.3 I found it just a little bit easier. I learned to focus on the book work rather than pre-emptive worrying about what people might think of it.
I feel the ‘making’ part is a natural conclusion to the whole process just like with every other lengthy process. This time around, there were no issues. Everything was delivered three weeks early before the shipping due date.
The Logo Creative – As a multi-disciplined designer, what are your favourite design disciplines you enjoy the most? And what would be your advice to a young designer who is unsure about the direction they want to go?
Radim Malinic – In my first book, Vol.1, there’s a chapter titled 100 Songs. It details how young music producers are encouraged to make ‘hundred’ songs in as many styles and work out in what style they enjoyed making a tune. We live in an era rich with opportunities. Now it’s not an issue or difficultly to make something. It’s the decision about what it should be. There are far too many options available to us. And just like the music producer, a designer should just start making stuff and find the thing that makes their soul happy.
I remember making at least 800+ pieces of work in my last full-time job. The fast tempo and diversity made me realise what I wanted to do and make less of and what is my chosen path that has led me to where I am today. My advice would be, start somewhere and keep exploring that place a bit by bit until you find the perfect connection. The world around us makes us believe that we have begun learning should make us a superstar tomorrow. Everything is a long process. Nothing happens overnight.
The Logo Creative – What are your thoughts on generalising vs specialising in graphic design, and what would be your advice for a young designer thinking about this?
Radim Malinic – I believe we should be multifaceted specialists – to go beyond the regular of the amount of knowledge that might be expected of you set by a precedent. As per my previous answer, I am a brand designer, but I have to exercise many different creative and personal skills to achieve the right outcome within my work. We only become who we are by being on a constant journey of self-development and discovery.
Learning feels more enjoyable when there’s no pressure or exams. We can pick up knowledge as we go along and as we like. It’s essential to start from one primary discipline and master it, thoroughly. Only then you add extra layers that make you grown. The same applies to business. New clients are likely to have a focused company around one idea – a product or service. They are not generalising. It would be impossible to justify commercial decisions. Start with one product line and a robust vision of how the business can be scaled up in the future. Just like we can and should do with our skillset.
The Logo Creative – Getting your portfolio right as a designer is a key to showcasing your design skills and attracting new clients. What is your advice to designers regarding their portfolio?
Radim Malinic – Every portfolio should excite and intrigue at first glance. Sadly, I feel many designers create folios that are aimed at showcasing work to other creatives rather than potential clients.
Just like with any new fresh creative problem, you start at the end of the journey, which is the end product. Who and why are you creating the folio? Do you want clients to see your process and journey that they can identify or do you want to use dozens of mockups to dazzle other designers of how many formats you can design for?
The new clients are looking for that spark of imagination that is the fuel for their idea.
The Logo Creative – Mental health is a severe issue of the design industry, I myself suffer from really bad burnout and scrape through 4/5 hours sleep each night, and I have difficulty switching off. When we interviewed you in our designer interviews you touched a little on mental health and how you suffered from this personally, what would be your advice for designers who are suffering?
Radim Malinic – That’s right. I simply didn’t look after myself as I should have done. This thing, creativity, can be far too intoxicating and addictive. When you make something out of nothing, turn it into a living and find a way how to get enough people to pay you, so it’s your career, you can easily do it every waking hour of every day.
I remember working 18 hours a day for years on end. I felt on top of the world. At least for a while. Then I broke myself to the point of needing professional help. You see, we need an equal amount of work / play / rest in our lives. Ask yourself, how much these three parts equal in your life? I used to be 90% work and 9% play and no rest apart from a lousy short sleep. Our brains need a rest to recharge, to make the sense of it all that happens in our daily life.
We take in so much more information daily than our ancestors took in their entire lives. We are not superhuman as we’d like to believe. I am a big believer in hard work. That hard work should lead to smart work overtime.
Two books I’d recommend to every creative – Why We Sleep by Matthew Walker and Atomic Habits by James Clear. Both essential titles to get you back on track to enjoy what you do without breaking yourself.
