4 stars

An engaging guide on more than just logo design: design process, branding, project management, & working with clients as a freelancer. There is a lot of great info as well as encouragement in here.

[What I liked:]

•The first couple sections are part memoir, where James tells how his career developed, & then shares tips & advice on developing your own career in graphic design & building your own brand.

•Along with tips on logo design, James includes helpful advice on working with clients, project management, pricing, working on deadlines, etc.

•Several case studies are included where James shows how he designed a logo for a client, how he communicated with them, & other details of the full process. These are really helpful real-world examples.

•The layout of this book is engaging & visually appealing, as one might expect from a graphic designer.


[What I didn’t like as much:]

•I wish there was a bit more content on logotype/typeface, but that isn’t the main subject of the book.

[I received an ARC ebook copy from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. Thank you for the book!]

UK-based graphic designer James Martin shares his unique creative process: concept to sketches to the final design. He also gives advice on delivery times and pricing and how to deal with clients. Also explained are terms used by the design industry and also a section on logo case studies that he has designed.

Overall it's an interesting book to see this designer's work and his processes. Much of the work looks like it is completed by hand rather than using computer programs.

I received this book from Netgalley in return for an honest review.

James Martin wrote Made by James and filled it with all the information you wished you mentor or someone you look up to disclose to you. A gatekeeper he is not, James Martin believes everyone is unique in their own way, so there's no need to give mystic replies to very common questions, Martin tells it as he has experienced it and that is useful and refreshing. Even if you are not a logo designer, I recommend this book to anyone who is in any creative field and it will be helpful to any other field as well. The processes that, the doubts, the questions on how to price, how to nurture relationships with your clients, that's essential for any job type. I didn't know about Made by James, but James Martin seems like a friend that will keep it 100 with you and that's appreciated, I'm a fan!

Learn the art and business of logo designing from James Martin who has been designing logos for the past 15 years. I liked how he broke down step by step the process he takes in coming up with a logo, using as examples several of the actual designs he has done .

He doesn't tell you just how to deal with clients but also how to handle the mental ups and downs as an artist.

A nice little book for the aspiring logo designer.

Made by James is the perfect book for anyone studying Logo design, marketing or graphic Design in general. It is bursting with creativity, examples, inspiring ideas, and tips and tricks. There are a variety of different examples and approaches to try that will help you identify your own personal style. It is a really interesting book with a casual and easy style. The author shares his own methods such as word mapping, rapid prototyping, and sketching ideas on paper. But he also includes valuable information on building a relationship with your clients, becoming more disciplined, and dealing with failure. Overall a very good and informative guide book.

I'm currently studying web and graphic design and this book Made by James is right down my alley. I love the casual tone and approach. James gives great tips and is allover very encouraging and positive, which I enjoyed and which motivated me to work on some more of my personal projects for my portfolio.
I can highly recommend this to any beginner or intermediate graphic designer. You'll get some great examples and a range of different approaches to try out.

Thank you Netgalley for providing me with a free copy in exchange for an honest review! I devoured this in a couple of days :) and I really want to get my hands on a hardcopy once it's been released.