Here are 100 books that Designing Brand Identity fans have personally recommended if you like Designing Brand Identity. Shepherd is a community of 12,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

When you buy books, we may earn a commission that helps keep our lights on (or join the rebellion as a member).

Book cover of Delivering Happiness: A Path to Profits, Passion, and Purpose

Kristen Hadeed Author Of Permission to Screw Up

From my list on leading with your heart and humanity.

Why am I passionate about this?

My career as a leader is built on an endless string of screwups—and I am so grateful for every single one of them. Every time I messed up, I learned another valuable lesson about what it means to be human, to own my humanity, and to make space for the humanity of others. That’s why I am relentlessly passionate about encouraging people—and especially leaders—to heal their relationship with failure and see it for the gift it really is. I believe that being open to growth and failure is what makes us human leaders. If we could all learn to lead with our hearts and our humanity, our world at work would be a much better place.

Kristen's book list on leading with your heart and humanity

Kristen Hadeed Why Kristen loves this book

Before I read this book, I thought that having a great company culture meant hiring a DJ to spin in your office on Fridays or stocking the breakroom with delicious snacks. Delivering Happiness showed me I had it all wrong.

This book taught me that culture is a feeling: It’s something we create through our behaviors, actions, and values. I learned to ask myself, “How do I want people to feel?” and align my actions as a leader accordingly. That’s the mindset that allowed me to build the culture my company became known for.

By Tony Hsieh ,

Why should I read it?

4 authors picked Delivering Happiness as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

- Pay brand-new employees $2,000 to quit
- Make customer service the responsibility of the entire company-not just a department
- Focus on company culture as the #1 priority
- Apply research from the science of happiness to running a business
- Help employees grow-both personally and professionally
- Seek to change the world
- Oh, and make money too . . .

Sound crazy? It's all standard operating procedure at Zappos, the online retailer that's doing over $1 billion in gross merchandise sales annually. After debuting as the highest-ranking newcomer in Fortune magazine's annual "Best Companies to Work For"…


If you love Designing Brand Identity...

Ad

Book cover of Aggressor

Aggressor by FX Holden,

It is April 1st, 2038. Day 60 of China's blockade of the rebel island of Taiwan.

The US government has agreed to provide Taiwan with a weapons system so advanced that it can disrupt the balance of power in the region. But what pilot would be crazy enough to run…

Book cover of Good to Great

John Mullins Author Of Break the Rules!: The Six Counter-Conventional Mindsets of Entrepreneurs That Can Help Anyone Change the World

From my list on enhanced success of your entrepreneurial journey.

Why am I passionate about this?

The world of entrepreneurship has been my driving passion for decades. Why? It is entrepreneurs, despite their many quirks, who make the world a better place. It’s entrepreneurs who create jobs in a world where jobs in many places are in short supply. It’s entrepreneurs who wake up every day with a passion to forge their own path with the freedom to do so. And it’s why I embarked at mid-life on a second career as a business-school professor. It’s why I teach and why I write. The books I suggest here will give you a fighting chance to deal effectively with the challenges you’ll surely find along your entrepreneurial journey.

John's book list on enhanced success of your entrepreneurial journey

John Mullins Why John loves this book

Jim Collins’ best book is the most pragmatic and most useful business book I’ve ever read. Period. From “getting the right people on the bus” to “the hedgehog concept” and more, the fundamentals entailed in creating a truly great business are all here. What more need I say? 

By Jim Collins ,

Why should I read it?

17 authors picked Good to Great as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

________________________________
Can a good company become a great one? If so, how?

After a five-year research project, Jim Collins concludes that good to great can and does happen. In this book, he uncovers the underlying variables that enable any type of organisation to make the leap from good to great while other organisations remain only good. Rigorously supported by evidence, his findings are surprising - at times even shocking - to the modern mind.

Good to Great achieves a rare distinction: a management book full of vital ideas that reads as well as a fast-paced novel. It is widely regarded…


Book cover of The Brand Gap

Laurence Minsky Author Of Audio Branding

From my list on turning a marketing novice into a branding expert.

Why am I passionate about this?

What other topic brings together human behavior, culture, business, the media, and more? And what other career allows you to use that understanding to produce compelling, entertaining, and persuasive communications across broadcast, streaming, social, outdoor, in-store, new product development, and other channels? That’s why I’m passionate about it. And that’s the passion I want to instill in my students, readers, and clients. So, who am I? I’m a professor and marketing consultant (copywritnig, creative direction, and marketing strategy) with large and small clients, and nearly 10 books on the topic. Read these books and I think you’ll become passionate about this topic too!

Laurence's book list on turning a marketing novice into a branding expert

Laurence Minsky Why Laurence loves this book

I love this book because it is clear, concise, and a fast read. This is one of those books you can truly complete in one sitting, but the ideas in it will keep you thinking for years.

In addition, it has lots of charts that make it easy to understand the concepts – while many other branding authors complicate their descriptions and definitions of these concepts. As a result, it has become one of my gold standards when I judge my writing.

Finally, it’s probably the book I cite and quote the most with my clients when I need to explain a brand-building concept to them. One more thing: If it doesn’t turn you into a design advocate, nothing will. 

By Marty Neumeier ,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked The Brand Gap as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

THE BRAND GAP is the first book to present a unified theory of brand-building. Whereas most books on branding are weighted toward either a strategic or creative approach, this book shows how both ways of thinking can unite to produce a "charismatic brand"-a brand that customers feel is essential to their lives. In an entertaining two-hour read you'll learn:

* the new definition of brand
* the five essential disciplines of brand-building
* how branding is changing the dynamics of competition
* the three most powerful questions to ask about any brand
* why collaboration is the key to brand-building…


If you love Alina Wheeler...

Ad

Book cover of Trusting Her Duke

Trusting Her Duke by Arietta Richmond,

A Duke with rigid opinions, a Lady whose beliefs conflict with his, a long disputed parcel of land, a conniving neighbour, a desperate collaboration, a failure of trust, a love found despite it all.

Alexander Cavendish, Duke of Ravensworth, returned from war to find that his father and brother had…

Book cover of Building a Storybrand: Clarify Your Message So Customers Will Listen

K. M. Wade Author Of The Content Marketer’s Blog Post Playbook

From my list on marketing to help you truly engage your audience.

Why am I passionate about this?

Throughout my career, I’ve come across so many everyday people with awesome ideas of life-changing potential for a select group of people. And most of them struggle to reach the people they can most help. This is such an incredible shame! I’m passionate about connecting those entrepreneurs and business owners who have great ideas with the people who will most benefit from their solutions, so both parties win. A big part of that is ensuring their marketing engages their target audience, hence this book list.

K. M.'s book list on marketing to help you truly engage your audience

K. M. Wade Why K. M. loves this book

This book completely changed how I think about communicating with my audience. Donald’s framework for clarifying your message is simple yet incredibly powerful. It taught me how to position the customer as the hero of the story and clarified my role as their guide—a mindset shift that has made my writing and marketing (and my strategic advice) so much more effective.

I love this book's interactivity, especially the inclusion of a StoryBrand template, which I completed as I read through it the second time. 

By Donald Miller ,

Why should I read it?

12 authors picked Building a Storybrand as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

More than half-a-million business leaders have discovered the power of the StoryBrand Framework, created by New York Times bestselling author and marketing expert Donald Miller. And they are making millions.

If you use the wrong words to talk about your product, nobody will buy it. Marketers and business owners struggle to effectively connect with their customers, costing them and their companies millions in lost revenue.

In a world filled with constant, on-demand distractions, it has become near-impossible for business owners to effectively cut through the noise to reach their customers, something Donald Miller knows first-hand. In this book, he shares…


Book cover of Aaker on Branding: 20 Principles That Drive Success

Vanitha Swaminathan Author Of Strategic Brand Management: Building, Measuring, and Managing Brand Equity

From my list on branding, ideas, and the advertising industry.

Why am I passionate about this?

Vanitha Swaminathan is the Thomas Marshall Professor of Marketing at the University of Pittsburgh and the Director of the Katz Center for Branding. Her research focuses on branding strategy with a particular emphasis on digital branding. She has published in various leading marketing and management journals including Journal of Marketing, Journal of Marketing Research, Journal of Consumer Research, Marketing Science, and Strategic Management Journal. She is currently serving on a three-year term on the American Marketing Association Board of Directors and previously served in AMA’s Academic Council as President. She has co-authored the Fifth Edition of the world-renowned textbook Strategic Brand Management: Building, Measuring, and Managing Brand Equity, along with Professor Kevin Lane Keller.

Vanitha's book list on branding, ideas, and the advertising industry

Vanitha Swaminathan Why Vanitha loves this book

David Aaker’s Aaker on Branding is a must-read for those interested in the principles of branding. The book’s author David Aaker is known as the Father of Branding and is a prolific author, and branding expert. This book combines principles of branding from across his various books and is thematically organized into various topics including creating a brand vision, and creating and managing brands, among others. Readers of this book will also learn about maintaining the brand’s relevance over time. An excellent compilation of the principles that drive branding success.

By David Aaker ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Aaker on Branding as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

"Aaker on Branding" presents in a compact form the twenty essential principles of branding that will lead to the creation of strong brands. Culled from the six David Aaker brand books and related publications, these principles provide the broad understanding of brands, brand strategy, brand portfolios, and brand building that all business, marketing, and brand strategists should know.

"Aaker on Branding" is a source for how you create and maintain strong brands and synergetic brand portfolios. It provides a checklist of strategies, perspectives, tools, and concepts that represents not only what you should know but also what action options should…


Book cover of A Cannes Lions Jury Presents: The Art of Branded Entertainment

Robin Landa Author Of Advertising by Design: Generating and Designing Creative Ideas Across Media

From my list on creative advertising, art direction, and typography.

Why am I passionate about this?

I'm a Distinguished Professor in the Michael Graves College, Kean University. I’ve written over twenty books about advertising, graphic design, branding, personal branding, creativity, and drawing. On May 17, 2022, Routledge will publish my new book, Strategic Creativity: A Business Field Guide to Advertising, Branding, and Design. I’ve won numerous awards for my design, writing, and research, including awards from the National Society of Arts and Letters and the National League of Pen Women. In 2015, I received the Human Rights Educator award, 2016 Kean Presidential Excellence award for research, 2013 Teacher of the Year, and the Carnegie Foundation lists me among the great teachers of our time.

Robin's book list on creative advertising, art direction, and typography

Robin Landa Why Robin loves this book

Anyone in advertising or interested in advertising should read anything PJ Pereira (co-founder and Creative Chairman of Pereria O’Dell) has to say. Period. That should be enough reason to read this tome but there are more.

Content is everything. Advertising competes with entertainment online and everywhere 24/7. This book is a collection of essays from jurors on the 2017 Lions Entertainment award jury—therefore these folks know what they’re talking about.

By PJ Pereira , Monica Chun , Jules Daly

Why should I read it?

1 author picked A Cannes Lions Jury Presents as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A special, première release of this groundbreaking book on the art of advertising and brand management to coincide with the 2018 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.

A collection of essays from jurors on the 2017 Lions Entertainment award. Drawing on years of experience and expertise, working for brands such as Mini, Coca-Cola, Lego, Google, Skype and Intel and for media and advertising giants such as Bartle Bogle Hegarty and MediaCom, the contributors provide a fun and far-reaching study of the evolution of branding and the future of advertising.

Live television viewing is decreasing as audiences choose to stream television…


If you love Designing Brand Identity...

Ad

Book cover of The Duke's Christmas Redemption

The Duke's Christmas Redemption by Arietta Richmond,

A Duke who has rejected love, a Lady who dreams of a love match, an arranged marriage, a house full of secrets, a most unneighborly neighbor, a plot to destroy reputations, an unexpected love that redeems it all.

Lady Charlotte Wyndham, given in an arranged marriage to a man she…

Book cover of The Hidden Power of Advertising

Daryl Weber Author Of Brand Seduction: How Neuroscience Can Help Marketers Build Memorable Brands

From my list on to help you understand the mind of your customer.

Why am I passionate about this?

Since I was young, I was fascinated with how the mind works; how all of our thoughts, feelings, memories, decisions, and actions come out of this lump of flesh in our heads. I studied consciousness, psychology, and neuroscience both at university, and on my own for decades. Once I started working in marketing, for many of the biggest and best brands in the world, I realized that marketers tend to have deep misconceptions and misunderstandings for how the mind actually works. My goal is to bridge the gap between all of the knowledge we have about the brain, and how that could be helpful to brands and marketers. 

Daryl's book list on to help you understand the mind of your customer

Daryl Weber Why Daryl loves this book

The Hidden Power of Advertising opened my eyes to a whole new way of understanding brands and marketing. He makes a compelling case for how advertising works at an unconscious level, and how marketers mostly ignore this powerful and hidden side of brands. He shares powerful, eye-opening studies done directly on advertising campaigns, and uses real-world examples to give practical advice that’s far from the usual marketing advice. 

By Robert Heath ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Hidden Power of Advertising as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The way advertising works is not so transparent after all. Advertising does have some sort of hidden power which enables it to influence us without our realising it.

The Hidden Power of Advertising presents a radical new challenge to traditional thinking about the way consumers interact with and process brand communication. For over 70 years the universal assumption has been that advertising is only effective if it consciously persuades consumers to choose a particular brand. In such circumstances attention is critical, which is why most of the advertising industry's creative resource is focused on achieving the highest possible levels of…


Book cover of The Mental World of Brands

Daryl Weber Author Of Brand Seduction: How Neuroscience Can Help Marketers Build Memorable Brands

From my list on to help you understand the mind of your customer.

Why am I passionate about this?

Since I was young, I was fascinated with how the mind works; how all of our thoughts, feelings, memories, decisions, and actions come out of this lump of flesh in our heads. I studied consciousness, psychology, and neuroscience both at university, and on my own for decades. Once I started working in marketing, for many of the biggest and best brands in the world, I realized that marketers tend to have deep misconceptions and misunderstandings for how the mind actually works. My goal is to bridge the gap between all of the knowledge we have about the brain, and how that could be helpful to brands and marketers. 

Daryl's book list on to help you understand the mind of your customer

Daryl Weber Why Daryl loves this book

This book goes even deeper into the neuroscience of brands, and how consumers make their decisions using mental models. This is a bit more academic, but can give a deeper and richer understanding of the processes at play in the unconscious mind when it comes to consumer decision making. 

By Giep Franzen , Margot Bouwman ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Mental World of Brands as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The Mental World of Brands provides a compelling new startpoint for developing new and better relationships between brand and consumer. It asks: how does the brain work? How does it form memories and associations, and how can we make best use of this knowledge to leverage brands and protect and expand market share?

The book shows how awareness is generated, how people put meanings to brands, and the importance of memory, emotion and language. It also discusses the use of brand research, not just as a separate academic area, but as an important part of the brand representation process.

*…


Book cover of What Clients Love: A Field Guide to Growing Your Business

J.W. Huebner Author Of The Irrelevant Old Brand: A Business Fable about Taking Your Brand from Mediocre to Must-Have

From my list on improving your relevancy in business and in life.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve spent most of my career helping companies figure out how to become more relevant to their customers. And the more time I spent understanding what makes a brand relevant, the more I realized it was the same thing that makes a life relevant. Just as a brand needs to uniquely give something to its customers, human beings also need to give in some way to be relevant in this world. So if what I write—and the books I recommend—can even in the smallest way guide some company or individual toward a more important, more meaningful, more relevant life…well then, I guess my job here will be done.

J.W.'s book list on improving your relevancy in business and in life

J.W. Huebner Why J.W. loves this book

This book is a game-changer for anyone who wants to grow their business and make their clients fall in love with them.

It's all about understanding what your clients really want and need, and then delivering it to them in a way that is authentic and meaningful. 

I love Beckwith's short-chapter writing style as it’s very easy to read, and his insights are incredibly valuable.

Putting his thoughts into practice, like “Respect your client’s time,” “Be specific,” “Before you pick a name, test it.” “Take time and write notes by hand.”…will all help make you more relevant and more trusted by your clients.

So if you’re looking to create a roadmap on how your team can better connect with your own clients and make them feel truly appreciated, What Clients Love will help you build it.

By Harry Beckwith ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked What Clients Love as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

In WHAT CLIENTS LOVE, Harry Beckwith discusses effective business tactics with the practical, down-to-earth style that has made him a best-selling author and trusted marketing expert. He explains the sheer simplicity of a marketing plan - how to find your company's position, how to define a brand and how to manage that brand so it has its full and overwhelming impact. With sections such as 'Thinking and Planning', 'Communicating' and 'Serving The Client', Beckwith shows how effective marketeers need to be brief, succinct and 'cut to the close'.

WHAT CLIENTS LOVE also reveals the very nature of a service and…


If you love Alina Wheeler...

Ad

Book cover of Old Man Country

Old Man Country by Thomas R. Cole,

This book follows the journey of a writer in search of wisdom as he narrates encounters with 12 distinguished American men over 80, including Paul Volcker, the former head of the Federal Reserve, and Denton Cooley, the world’s most famous heart surgeon.

In these and other intimate conversations, the book…

Book cover of The Contagious Commandments: Ten Steps to Brand Bravery

Robin Landa Author Of Advertising by Design: Generating and Designing Creative Ideas Across Media

From my list on creative advertising, art direction, and typography.

Why am I passionate about this?

I'm a Distinguished Professor in the Michael Graves College, Kean University. I’ve written over twenty books about advertising, graphic design, branding, personal branding, creativity, and drawing. On May 17, 2022, Routledge will publish my new book, Strategic Creativity: A Business Field Guide to Advertising, Branding, and Design. I’ve won numerous awards for my design, writing, and research, including awards from the National Society of Arts and Letters and the National League of Pen Women. In 2015, I received the Human Rights Educator award, 2016 Kean Presidential Excellence award for research, 2013 Teacher of the Year, and the Carnegie Foundation lists me among the great teachers of our time.

Robin's book list on creative advertising, art direction, and typography

Robin Landa Why Robin loves this book

You can find the latest international advertising news and views at Contagious.com and you can find what makes advertising contagious in this book. Contagious is a global resource for the marketing industry and this book encapsulates their secrets. It’s a must-read for any strategist, creative, producer, or marketing pro. What I admire about The Contagious Commandments' approach is they emphasize thinking about the intersection of creativity, technology, and behavioral psychology, and never forgetting that the ideas you generate should not only positively impact the brand but society as well. 

By Paul Kemp-Robertson , Chris Barth ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Contagious Commandments as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Contagion may alarm doctors but marketers thrive on it. Some concepts are so compelling you have to share them. But what makes an idea so infectious you can't keep it to yourself? And how can brands produce these kinds of ideas intentionally rather than by chance?

Contagious, the globally renowned intelligence resource for the marketing industry, is dedicated to identifying and interrogating the world's most exceptional creative trends. And in The Contagious Commandments, Paul Kemp-Robertson and Chris Barth condense this valuable research into ten strategic takeaways for your own marketing revolution.

Taking inspiration from disruptive campaigns from the likes of…


Book cover of Delivering Happiness: A Path to Profits, Passion, and Purpose
Book cover of Good to Great
Book cover of The Brand Gap

Share your top 3 reads of 2025!

And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.

1,210

readers submitted
so far, will you?

5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in advertising, branding, and presidential biography?

Advertising 54 books
Branding 35 books