BUDGET DESIGN INK - From Fruit to Fame: The Evolution of the Apple Logo

From Fruit to Fame: The Evolution of the Apple Logo

Evolution of the Apple Logo

Like we said earlier, Apple is one of the biggest and most popular brands in the world—but it wasn’t always that way.

Let’s not forget that Apple started in a small Californian garage in 1976. It took years for , which helped increase customer loyalty and brand awareness.

And you can see, their branding is in nearly every aspect of their business—from their retail stores’ design and layout to the beautiful unboxing experience that comes with every new product purchase.

And their most iconic branding feature by far is their logo. So, let’s explore the evolution of Apple’s logo from 1976 to the present day.

1976

You’d be forgiven for thinking that the first Apple logo represents a different company. It’s not the smooth, sleek design we’re familiar with today. In fact, it looks like something you’d expect to see slapped on a bottle of craft beer.

The job of creating the company’s first logo fell to Ronald Wayne, who decided to use Isaac Newton’s image sitting below a tree – the same Isaac Newton who discovered gravity when an apple fell out of a tree onto his head.

As we know, Ronald Wayne didn’t last long at Apple, and neither did his logo.

1977

After only a year, Steve Jobs announced the logo as “old-fashioned” and thought it was too challenging to use on a smaller scale. Jobs also believed in the importance of modern computer design and wanted a logo to reinforce this idea and impress customers.

After all, a logo represents what a brand is. An old-style logo will cause people to think your brand is outdated, too.

To help create a new logo, Jobs hired Rob Janoff, a graphic designer tasked with creating a logo that would blend the name “Apple” with a modern-looking design.

And so, the famous Apple logo was born. Janoff’s design was quite simple, a 2D apple with a bite taken out of it and a rainbow spectrum splashed across it.

1984

From here, the logo went through small but meaningful iterations. The same year the Macintosh was launch, Landor Associates removed the company’s name from the logo—turning it into the icon that would become, well, iconic for decades to come.

1998

Steve Jobs left Apple in 1985 after being pushed out by the company’s executives, but he returned in 1997, as the company was losing money at a rapid pace and faced the very real threat of going bust.

Why the Current Apple Logo Works

What is it about Apple’s logo that makes it so effective?

For starters, the logo represents the company’s name, which helps to boost brand recognition. Every time consumers hear the name “Apple,” it gets reinforced in their minds by the visual cue of the logo design, and vice versa.

Over time, the pairing of the logo and brand name makes it easier for the public to recognize the Apple logo and immediately connect it to the representation of the company.