To kickstart my journey and ensure I could deliver the best version of my dream project, I launched a Kickstarter campaign. This campaign allows me to bulk order deluxe copies of my book through a reputable print company, giving me the chance to offer something special to those who have supported my goals from the beginning. Writing this book has been a dream of mine for almost half my life, and as I know many other designers share this aspiration, I thought it would be helpful to share the behind-the-scenes process of creating my first design book.
It All Started with an Idea
When I was in college, I had a dream: I wanted to write a book. At that time, my vision was a grand science fiction epic—something akin to Lord of the Rings or Star Wars. I was more drawn to creating stunning illustrations for this imaginary world than to writing, which I wasn’t particularly good at. I spent hours sketching and drafting ideas, but deep down, I knew the story was too complex for me to handle at that point in my life. However, the desire to write a book never fully left me.
Years later, as I began my journey with Logo Geek, I became obsessed with logo design. I devoured every book I could find on the subject. As I read and absorbed more information, I realized how much I was learning. And then it hit me—what if I could create a single book that brought together everything I had learned about logo design into one comprehensive guide? A book that could serve as the ultimate bible for logo design. This was the concept that would eventually evolve into the project I’m now sharing with the world.
Planning the Book with Post-it Notes
Around this time, I started following Pat Flynn, whose approach to business was both inspiring and practical. One of the most valuable lessons I learned from him was his technique for planning out big projects using Post-it Notes. This method was a game-changer for me.
The idea was simple: write down each key concept or idea that you want to include in your book on individual Post-it Notes. For my book, I wrote down topics like “what is a logo,” “the design process,” “logo files,” and “color theory.” The goal was to empty my mind of all the potential ideas and then group them into categories. This helped me structure my thoughts and plan the chapters more effectively.
At first, I pinned the Post-it Notes to a corkboard, but eventually, I moved everything to A4 sheets of paper, which I organized into a folder. I even color-coded the notes: pink for chapter topics, yellow for sub-topics within chapters, and green for areas where I wanted to invite input from other designers. With this system in place, I finally had a clear roadmap for the content of my book.
Writing Blogs to Build Authority
As I moved forward with the project, I realized that in order to build authority and rank well in search engines, I needed to write more. But rather than jumping straight into writing the book, I decided to write a series of blog posts that would eventually serve as chapters for the book. This would allow me to test my ideas and start building an audience at the same time.
I started by writing blog posts on topics such as “The Tools Needed to Be a Logo Designer,” “A Guide to Generating Logo Design Ideas,” and “A Designer’s Guide to Creating Logo Files.” As my following grew, I began to see opportunities for monetization through affiliate marketing. One of the key people I met during this time was Tom Ross, the CEO of Design Cuts, a company I had worked with successfully promoting bundles. Tom offered me invaluable advice and even coached me on how to grow my email list in a way that would benefit both of us.
Creating the Logo Designer’s Boxset
As part of Tom’s advice, he encouraged me to create a lead magnet—something so valuable that people would be willing to give me their email addresses in exchange for it. By this point, I had written several useful blog posts, but they weren’t enough to fill a book. Instead, I used these blog posts as the foundation for a series of eBooks that would offer significant value to logo designers.
The result was The Logo Designer’s Boxset, a collection of six eBooks that compiled the best of my blog content along with new material. These eBooks became a huge hit, downloaded tens of thousands of times, and helped me grow my email list and audience. They were a stepping stone to my ultimate goal of writing a complete book on logo design.
Reality Check: Books Need a Lot of Content
Several years into this process, reality began to set in. Writing a book wasn’t going to be as easy as I initially thought. Someone once mentioned that a standard book contains around 50,000 words—an amount that seemed daunting at the time. To put it in perspective, you’d have to write 1,000 words a week for an entire year to reach that goal. The challenge seemed overwhelming, but it was clear that if I wanted to finish the book, I would have to commit to the process and get serious about it.
Clarity and Focus
By this time, my business, Logo Geek, had grown significantly. I was finally able to quit my day job and focus full-time on my logo design career. This newfound clarity and focus gave me the momentum I needed to truly dedicate myself to finishing the book.
Writing a book, I’ve learned, is not a quick process. It requires patience, focus, and consistency. But each step, whether it’s writing blog posts, creating eBooks, or refining the plan with Post-it Notes, has brought me closer to my goal. Now, thanks to the support of my Kickstarter backers, I’m finally able to share this dream with the world.
Conclusion
Creating my first design book has been a journey that’s spanned years. From my early college days dreaming of writing a science fiction epic to now, as I prepare to share The Ultimate Guide to Logo Design, this project has taught me valuable lessons in perseverance, planning, and adapting along the way. I’m incredibly excited to see where this book will take me and to offer something of value to the community that’s supported me throughout this entire process.
