Paul Ibou (°1939) is a Belgian designer and is one of the hidden gems in the world of logo design. Although he isn’t very well known anymore today, he certainly was during his career. The quality of his work is astonishing which makes him live up to his name as one of the pioneers in graphic design.
LOGOBOX is a beautiful A5 sized box containing 192 separate sheets with logos Ibou made during his career. This is only a small part of his work since he made approximately 390 logos. The box is almost identical to his book Logobook: 200 Trademarks and Symbols which was published in 1990. Unlike the book, LOGOBOX wasn’t published for wide distribution. There were only 1000 copies printed which served as “A prestigious document for the press, his clients, and friends.” as Paul described himself.
Looking at Paul Ibou work, it becomes clear that it was no coincidence that his name popped up regularly next to those of the top designers back in the day. However, as years passed by, Ibou’s work incomprehensible faded into the background.
Paul Ibou logos have very bold and straightforward characteristics. No weird shapes or distracting elements. Only the idea he wants to visualise, the usage of basic shapes and a grid are the cornerstones of his logos.
This way of design thinking shines through his LOGOBOX. It is purely printed in black and every logo is placed on a separate sheet to make you focus on one logo at the time. By isolating the logos and combining this with black print, Ibou manages to detach the logos from their context and elevates the symbols to artworks. This makes it possible for the viewer to study the beautifulness of the shapes without getting distracted by colors, emotions or whatsoever.
LOGOBOX is an amazing publication if you are the purest form of logo design. The focus lays on the shapes of the logos and lovers of minimal design will certainly squeal from joy if they manage to get their hands on this copy. On top of that, the separate sheets make it possible for you to frame the logos so you can hang these beauties on your wall.
All in all, LOGOBOX is a wonderful item to have to showcase the pure and stylistic work of Paul Ibou. Finding a copy of this limited publication of 1000 pieces, on the other hand, won’t be an easy task. If you do find one, consider yourself a lucky person.
