Customer Reviews

Character Trademarks

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

While this book contains hundreds upon hundreds of character trademarks, very few of them are rendered well. A very small portion are clean, sharp and crisp. Poor quality graphics are to be expected of those marks from the '30s, '40s and '50s but even the latest marks were poorly rendered. Most of the figures looked as if they had been through a copy machine 5 or 6 times before publication or poorly traced with a black pen. Where is the style in the strokes? Where is the artistry?
I think this book is a case of QUANTITY rather than QUALITY. This book could have used some serious editing to include only 200 of the best and most influential and successful character marks of the century with more about their history and evolution. I was impressed however at the painstaking dilligence in compiling such a large library of trademarks.

An intriguing paperback of over eight hundred character marks and amazingly NO INDEX. Another reviewer has noted that they are not examples of pristine artwork, well, yes very true but most of them are less than two inches deep and I don't really think it detracts from the books worth.

Most of the pages have nine marks and some very clean typography for the captions, there are several spreads through the book with color photos of three dimensional marks and these pages make a neat break from the majority in black and white. If you want to see a whole load of three dimensional trademarks have a look at the lovely 'What a Character' by Warren Dotz and Jim Morton, a book with dozens of color photos of American advertising icons.

The chapter on anthropomorphic marks I found fascinating, here designers really had to stretch their creativity to make human forms out of company products. On page fifteen a 1962 'Mr Wirewell' from the Electrical Manufacturers Association was a face within a lightning flash with a service hat on top.

A fun book for designers and lovers of Americana...like me.

Hey...Chronicle Books, don't forget the index next time!

In response to the other review, i have to agree...it isnt so much a book than a collected overview of images, mostly in black and white....this book is mainly a reference book, a catalog of icons....which is fine for what it is. The reason the imagery is in most cases poor quality, is because i believe the author obtained the public access images from the Library of Congress. The book is what it is...its a simple reference guide....it is very concise though...most of the trademarks are very obscure and little known....

Other books that may satiate your needs, "What a Character!" is a more visual and informative showcase, mainly of collectibles, as well as the upcoming "Mascotography", which showcases the history of all the greats in an encyclopedic format....

This is a valuable resource for anyone with an interest in character and trademark design. I value this book precisely for its quantity rather than quality. It is organized by character category, with chapters on anthropomorphic characters, animals, females, males, and child character trademarks. Within those chapters they are further grouped: skunks, birds, chefs, scientists, Scotsmen, etc. A great book for the shelf of graphic designers, animators, illustrators, and others!

...sure, it's better than having nothing, but some great advertisement characters are missing: the ESSO tiger, the Scott's Emulsion fisherman, the Frito Bandito... you name it.

Instead, you get a truckload of characters you've never seen or heard of ...and with good reason!