Top Branding books recommended by experts

At MentorCruise, we are all about making the most out of the experience of others. As part of that, we've connected and asked dozens of experts and professionals about their favourite Branding books – and here are the answers.

Table of Contents

Fundamentals of Branding

Understanding the concepts of Branding starts with understanding the fundamentals. On your way to mastery, it's crucial for you to understand how certain concepts were derived, and why things work like they do. Starting with these resources is the best way to do so.

Identity Designed: The Definitive Guide to Visual Branding

Identity Designed: The Definitive Guide to Visual Branding

Written by best-selling writer and renowned designer David Airey, Identity Designed formalizes the process and the benefits of brand identity design and includes a substantial collection of high-caliber projects from a variety of the world's most talented design studios.

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise

Branding: In Five and a Half Steps

Branding: In Five and a Half Steps

In Branding, Johnson strips everyday brands down to their basic components, with case studies that enable us to understand why we select one product or service over another and allow us to comprehend how seemingly subtle influences can affect key life decisions.

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise

Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action

Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action

What's it about? This book is about discovering the power of purpose in work, leadership, and life, and how understanding the "WHY" behind our actions can inspire and motivate others to achieve greatness.

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise

Contagious: Why Things Catch On

Contagious: Why Things Catch On

In Contagious, Berger reveals the secret science behind word-of-mouth and social transmission. Discover how six basic principles drive all sorts of things to become contagious, from consumer products and policy initiatives to workplace rumors and YouTube videos.

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise

How to Launch a Brand

How to Launch a Brand

This book will guide you through the steps necessary to build a brand from the ground up. Most entrepreneurs, even seasoned brand managers, launch first and then work on slowly transforming the new offering into a brand.

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise

Creating a Brand Identity

Creating a Brand Identity

Creating a Brand Identity goes behind the scenes to explore the creative processes involved in designing a successful brand identity, one of the most fascinating and complex challenges in graphic design.

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise

Additional Branding Reading

These books are not required for you to learn Branding, but they are highly recommended for you to deepen your knowledge.

Building Strong Brands

Building Strong Brands

The process of building a strong or famous brand involves critical thinking and analysis of all aspects of the brand to help deliver on the overall goal of the organisation. Brand positioning ensures that the brand is on the minds and hearts of consumers/customers all the time, and this can be done in many ways.

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise

The Hero and the Outlaw

The Hero and the Outlaw

A brand’s meaning―how it resonates in the public heart and mind―is a company’s most valuable competitive advantage. Yet, few companies really know how brand meaning works, how to manage it, and how to use brand meaning strategically. Written by best-selling author Carol S. Pearson (The Hero Within) and branding guru Margaret Mark, this groundbreaking book provides the illusive and compelling a…

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise

Hello, My Name Is Awesome: How to Create Brand Names That Stick

Hello, My Name Is Awesome: How to Create Brand Names That Stick

In this entertaining and engaging book, ace naming consultant Alexandra Watkins explains how anyone—even noncreative types—can create memorable and buzz-worthy brand names. No degree in linguistics required. The heart of the book is Watkins's proven SMILE and SCRATCH Test—two acronyms for what makes or breaks a name.

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise

Book of Branding - a guide to creating brand identity for startups and beyond

Book of Branding - a guide to creating brand identity for startups and beyond

Book of Branding is an essential addition to the startup toolkit—a guide designed for entrepreneurs, founders, designers, brand creators and anyone seeking to decode the complicated world of brand identity design.

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise

How Brands Grow: What Marketers Don't Know

How Brands Grow: What Marketers Don't Know

How Brands Grow: what marketers don't know is based on decades of research that has progressively uncovered scientific laws about buying and brand performance. This book is the first to present these laws in context, and explore their meaning and marketing applications.

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise

Building a StoryBrand: Clarify Your Message So Customers Will Listen

Building a StoryBrand: Clarify Your Message So Customers Will Listen

This book, “Building a Brand Story: Clarify Your Message So Customers Will Listen,” by Donald Miller, is a gem summing up college semesters worth of information on story-telling and construction into actionable steps for the reader and business owner to apply in a fundamental way that is easy to digest. This alone proves the book to be invaluable, yet additionally it provides peace of mind tha…

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise

Have any other suggestions? Add here.

Augment your Branding books

There is no better source of accountability and motivation than having a personal mentor. What used to be impossible to find is now just two clicks away! All mentors are vetted & hands-on!

Only 2 Spots Left

Hello, I'm Chris Ellinas and I love solving business problems, through design thinking! 😊 I believe in good people. Good work is secondary. I had the opportunity to work with engaging clients and brands around the world. My main client right now are Netflix, Disney+, and Amazon Prime, designing logos …

$120 / month
  Chat
1 x Call
Tasks


I coach entrepreneurs and startups to avoid any roadblocks and build businesses that succeed. You can either book one of the plans or if you are new to mentorship I suggest booking one of my sessions to get started. I am a Round 2 judge for the ABH 2023 (Jack …

$180 / month
  Chat
2 x Calls

Only 2 Spots Left

As a global brand director, I have led some of the most iconic brands in the world, such as Dove, Rexona (Sure/Degree), and Axe (Lynx) during my time at Unilever. I genuinely enjoy helping others grow their skillset, achieve both their professional and personal goals through mentoring and coaching. I …

$300 / month
  Chat
2 x Calls

Only 1 Spot Left

Do you feel overlooked? Do you believe you could perform at a higher level if you were given the opportunity? And yet, you are surrounded by incompetent managers who have been promoted above their capabilities? Nothing frustrates me more than this situation. To think they're not seeing your potential, that …

$90 / month
  Chat
1 x Call


Hi! I am an award-winning UI/UX and visual designer with experience working at Fortune 500 companies and top creative agencies. Following a decade-long corporate career, I took on an entrepreneurial path and founded Path Unbound, a UI/UX design school dedicated to training the next generation of designers who are business …

$200 / month
  Chat
2 x Calls
Tasks


Hi, I'm Reen! I am currently an ambassador for Google Women Techmakers, with a professional focus in data analytics, social media strategy, and branding. I am pursuing my studies at MIT and have completed my previous education at Oxford. My experience includes working at McKinsey and conducting case studies for …

$180 / month
  Chat
2 x Calls
Tasks

Browse all Branding mentors

Still not convinced?
Don’t just take our word for it

We’ve already delivered 1-on-1 mentorship to thousands of students, professionals, managers and executives. Even better, they’ve left an average rating of 4.9 out of 5 for our mentors.

Find a Branding mentor
  • "Naz is an amazing person and a wonderful mentor. She is supportive and knowledgeable with extensive practical experience. Having been a manager at Netflix, she also knows a ton about working with teams at scale. Highly recommended."

  • "Brandon has been supporting me with a software engineering job hunt and has provided amazing value with his industry knowledge, tips unique to my situation and support as I prepared for my interviews and applications."

  • "Sandrina helped me improve as an engineer. Looking back, I took a huge step, beyond my expectations."