The newest series of Logo Lounge books, Master Library Series Initials & Crests, will include four Roskelly identities.
Design is honored to announce that more than a dozen of its design projects have been selected to be published in a series of four upcoming David E. Carter books.
David E. Carter is a best-selling producer of more than 100 graphic design books that have sold over one million copies. 5 by 5 Design will be featured for various projects and topics, in- cluding:
David E. Carter is an entrepreneur and writer who is a con- sidered an expert on graphic design, logo design, and corpo- rate branding and the "pioneer" of trademark and logo books.[1][2] He has written over 100 books in the field and his books are distributed in as many as 120 countries and used in college classes in more than 20 countries
How long has your company been in business? Please tell us a bit about your company, its mission, goals... I produced my first logo book in 1972 – this was a time when there were NO logo books. NONE. With much effort, I identified and col- lected nearly 1,000 logos that were outstanding. I put the book to- gether the old fashioned way: I shot them in a darkroom with a big
graphic arts camera. Made film, then made prints from the film. Next step was to paste them into a book layout.
I sent letters to 17 publishers, and all turned me down. One actually wrote something like, “there is no market for logo books, because there are no logo books.” I saw just the reverse, and self-published the book. I pre-sold enough copies in 5 weeks to hit break-even, and THEN I paid cash for the press run. Within a year, I sold 4,000 copies of the book – all with direct mail. That was the beginning of of something very big. Over the next 35 years, I produced 114 books, and became the best-selling producer of graphic design books. Ever.
Do you donate to charities? Tell us about that also and why.
I have one charity. Ohio University Southern is very near to my hometown of Ashland, Kentucky (just across the river). It’s primarily a commuter school, and attracts many young people who are the first in their families to attend college. They have a great Electronic Media program, and they are changing the lives of many young people.
I went to graduate school at the main campus of Ohio University (Athens, Ohio), and that was a life-changing experience for me. When I moved from Kentucky to Florida, I was leaving behind my “dream office.” It was like a museum. Seriously. The director of the Electronic Media program asked me what I was going to do with all my “stuff.” I had no idea, but I really didn’t want to part with the memorabilia I had, but saw no options. He said, “we would like to take the best of your office environment and make a David E. Car- ter Creativity Center and Museum on our campus.” And they did.
Tell us about your brand.
For the books I produced, my name is my brand. But my visual identity for my books is a caricature of me that was done by the legendary Al Hirschfeld. Yes, the guy who has drawn everybody in show business from The Beatles to Elvis Presley to Johnny Car- son and hundreds more.
Why did he draw ME? Because I discovered that Al Roker’s wife had commissioned him to do a caricature of Roker as a Christmas
present. Once I learned that Hirschfeld did commissions, I knew that I needed to have that image on ALL of my books. I wrote a check, visited Hirschfeld in his brownstone, and he captured my image in art. Best money I ever spent.
In what order did you present your company to the world? Did you start with marketing and products, or website, blog and social media? Social media didn’t exist when I began producing books. I started with direct mail, then I became a “shameless self promoter.”
How long after the launch of your company did you start pitch- ing in social media? I didn’t get into social media until just a few years ago. I feel like an aging dinosaur.
Did you do research or study any software, take webinars, teleclasses, before approaching any area of your marketing or web presence? I was an early adopter of Macintosh technology. My first Mac was a MacIIcxin1989. Ithada40MBharddrive,with2MBofRAM.I have never used anything other than a Mac.
The agency’s winning identities include:
- Newport Mansions logo for the Preservation Society
- Get Moving logo for the Hudner Oncology Center
- GUCK boats logo
- Auto Vista logo for Rob Regan in North Conway NH
"I would like to extend a special thanks to my clients," Thomas C. Roskelly said. "I appreciate their ongoing patronage, and am grateful for the opportunity to create award winning work on their behalf."
To learn how Thomas Roskelly can create a brand for your organization, e-mail Thomas@Roskelly.com, or call 401.683.5091.
For a sampling of Roskelly’s award-winning work, visit www.Roskelly.com
