The History Of The Apple Logo
One of the most valuable brands of the world, Apple is mainly known for its exquisite hardware design.
Whether it is their computers or smartphones, all of its products represent the ceaseless ingenuity of its creative team.
A dominance of Apple’s client base is a patron of the eye-popping hardware design of its products.
However, the company is not creative only with its product design, but it also has a rich history when it comes to its Apple logo design and branding.
From its first brand identity to the last logo, Apple’s logo design has gone through a significant transition regarding design, colours, and style.
Apple Inc. Vs Apple Corps: A Long Legal War Over Brand Identity
Apart from having an appealing design, the Apple logo design also has a fascinating history.
Part of its history is associated with its name that is coincidentally similar to another company by the name of Apple Records which is owned by the Beatles, the famous rock band of the 60s and 70s.
Due to the similarities in the brand name and logo, both the companies went toe-to-toe with each other in a lawsuit that lasted for twenty-eight years.
The legal battle resulted in a settlement that entitled the Apple Inc. to own all the trademark rights associated with the Apple name.
According to the essay writer at UK essay ace, the settlement was finished after Apple paid a whopping amount of $500 million.
This ended an old rift between the two companies and ended on a positive note.
Coming back to the exquisite Apple logo design, it kept going through several iterations from its very first inception in 1976.
The most noticeable change is the bite and people cooked up many stories about it.
Some associate the bite with the lore of Alan Turing and his death, while some attribute it to the story of Original Sin.
There are many other unofficial versions of this story.
However, the original creator of the Apple logo design has a different story to tell.
Touraj Saberivand was the partner of the design team that created the Apple’s logo.
According to him, the bite was created to make it look more like an apple so that it does not seem similar to any other fruit.
Here is what he had to say:
I was going for the silhouette of an apple, but to make it look more like an apple and not some other round fruit, I did what one does with an apple, I took a bite out of it.
However, the story of the Apple logo design has more exciting facets than just a bite.
From its very first design until its modern form, it has gone through some iterations that deserve mention in this article.
However, before we delve into its history, we will take a glimpse into the salient features of the Apple logo design:
Shape
The most noticeable thing in the Apple logo is its imagery of apple fruit.
A bite is designed on the right side of the fruit to ensure that it looks like an apple.
The leaf of the fruit is bent towards the right side.
Colours
While Apple has a single logo design that it uses as brand identity of its organisation, it also uses some other versions with little variations in colours.
Most of its products use silver chrome colour in its logo design which looks stylish and gives it a modern feel.
Fonts
Apple does not use any fonts in its official company’s logo design.
The clean and elegant look of its logo does not call for any text.
Now that you have an idea of the elements of Apple’s logo design, let’s check out its evolution through the eyes of history:
First Apple Logo Design (1976)
Apple’s first logo was considered quite complicated for its intricate design.
It depicts the famous story of the discovery of gravity when Isaac Newton was sitting under a tree, and an apple falls on him.
It was created by Ronald Wayne, the co-founder of Apple, who designed the logo to tribute Isaac Newton for his discovery of gravity.
The logo featured Isaac Newton sitting under a tree and contemplating over something while an apple is about to fall on his head.
Although the logo became the brand identity for Apple, it could not create the buzz and was soon replaced by a new logo design.
Besides, Steve Jobs did not quite like the logo and needed a better design.
According to him, the logo looked enigmatic and lacked clarity.
In other words, he needed something more explicit and straightforward.
Therefore, he hired a design a team for the job.
The Rainbow-Coloured Apple Logo (1976 – 1998)
Since Steve Jobs was not very happy with the first logo design as he wanted something more compelling and artistic, he assigned Rob Janoff with the job, and he did impress Steve Jobs with his work.
There was a marked improvement in the design of the new logo.
The Apple’s new logo design used an Apple that was bitten from the right side, while it used rainbow colours to make it more user-friendly.
The Rob Janoff’s design struck a chord with Steve Jobs, and he approved the plan.
The new design invoked curiosity of the people, and they started making speculations.
Some thought that the use of Apple is a tribute to the demise of Alan Turing who died after eating an apple that was considered to have cyanide.
As for the colours in the logo, people thought of it as representative of the Apple’s transition to Apple II which was the company’s first computer that supported the use of colours.
The rainbow colour logo remained the brand identity of Apple for more than two decades.
Though the colours and styling have changed over the years, the basic design and imagery of the logo remain the same.
The Monochrome Apple Logo Design (1998 – 2000)
In 1997, Steve Jobs rejoined the company after twelve years.
Once he was back in the saddle, the first thing he did was to rebrand the company.
Whether it was the translucent iMacs or the new packaging of the products, Steve Jobs changed the entire personality of the Apple.
However, the most significant change came in the form of its new logo design which was more impactful than its previous versions.
The new logo was revamped mainly because of the change in hardware design as the new Apple computers used metallic casing.
So a rainbow-coloured logo would have looked absurd in those cases.
This is why Steve Jobs changed it with a solid colour logo that can complement a metallic casing.
So he came up with the idea of a monochrome logo that can go with the new design of iMac.
The final design was approved by Steve Jobs, and since then the logo is a part of the Apple products.
Today, it is one of the most recognised logos in the world and an integral part of Apple’s brand identity.
The New Stylized Apple Logo (2001 – 2007)
Apple did some tweaking with the monochrome logo to make it look more stylized.
The new logo had a glassy look with a gradient shade that adds a sense of sophistication and style in its design.
This logo has now become a permanent feature of many of the Apple’s products.
However, Apple used two versions of this glassy logo: silver and chrome.
The silver logo is used on the hardware products of the company, while the chrome version is featured on the software products.
The Future of Apple’s Logo Design?
The Apple logo has an inspiring journey.
From its first design till the last version, the Apple logo retained its integrity and class that it is known for.
Whether it is the logo of Isaac Newton or the rainbow-coloured version, the monochrome logo or the latest brand identity, Apple brings out the best from every design.
Considering that the Apple’s logo has garnered extraordinary attention, we look forward to the future logo and hope that it would represent the ethos of the company as the previous logos did.
Final Thoughts
The logo of Apple Inc. is among the most widely recognized logos in the world.
Just like McDonald’s, Nike, and FedEx, it is regarded as one of the most famous logos that people can quickly recognize.
Apple Inc. owed a big part of its success to its appealing logo design.
It was the beauty of Apple logo design that graced its breakthrough products and contributed to their phenomenal success.
Whether it is iPhone, iPad, iMac, or iPod, the emblem of Apple is the substance of their design.
Anyone who sees the brand identity of Apple cannot resist but give it a second look.
That is the impact it creates on the laymen.
Today, the Apple insignia is a symbol of innovation, reliability, and trust.
Hope the facts above enriched your knowledge about the history of the Apple Brand Identity and inspired you enough to create something as original and unique as the Apple logo design.
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