How the Apple logo changed over almost half a century of the company's history

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

It turns out that the current version of the emblem was already used in 1998-2000.

1976: Newton under the apple tree

The very first Apple logo looks more like a painting than a brand name. It depicted Isaac Newton reading under a tree with a falling apple hanging over him.

A line from William Wordsworth's poem "Prelude" is written along the outline of the frame: Newton … A Mind Forever Voyaging Through Strange Seas of Thought … Alone.

The emblem turned out to be rich in references and secret meaning, but too overwhelmed and complicated for marketing purposes. It lasted only a year.

By the way, the author of the logo - Ronald Wayne - was the third co-founder of the company. He did not believe in Apple's success and recklessly sold a 10% stake in the future corporation for only $ 800. And thereby deprived himself of a multibillion-dollar fortune.

1977: rainbow version

The official logo that adorned the first product of the company - Apple II, became a bitten apple made of bright multi-colored stripes. In just a week, designer Rob Yanov created it at the request of Steve Jobs.

The artist bought apples and painted them, removing unnecessary details. So there was only a contour with a handle. At the same time, the famous bite on the right side was created without hidden meanings. He was needed only in order to accurately distinguish fruit from tomato and other fruits.

The rainbow color palette sparked speculation about hidden sympathies in support of the LGBT community, as well as references to the famous mathematician and cryptographer Alan Turing, who was gay.

In fact, the rainbow in the logo does not carry any secret messages. According to Steve Jobs' idea, they, on the contrary, were more than obvious: six colors indicated support for the output of a color image by a computer. And in the days of monochrome monitors, this is a compelling advantage.

1998: translucent logo

The brand new iMac in Bondi Blue stood out from the dull beige and gray boxes of regular PCs. The old rainbow badge would have looked childishly ridiculous on shiny plastic, so the designers changed it to a semi-transparent logo to match the body color.

1998: monochrome version

Returning after more than 10 years of absence to the company, which was going through its bad years, Jobs set a course for change. And first of all, he changed the corporate logo, abandoning bright colors in favor of a monochromatic apple contour.

2001: Aqua-version

A little later, the Apple logo began to be depicted in the style of the Aqua graphical interface, which appeared in macOS X. Such logos have long been used on business cards and signs at the company's headquarters in Cupertino. The red version was used for extended warranty support for Apple Care, and the darkened graphite version was used on Power Mac G4 system units.

2007: Chrome version

Then the emblem changed slightly. The glossy shine remained in place, but from a glass apple it turned into a highly polished metal one. The logo was used for many products, but most remembered for the iOS boot screen and the "About This Mac" screen in OS X.

2014: monochrome logo

Almost 15 years later, Apple is returning to the minimalist logo, which was first introduced back in 1998. The recognizable monochrome silhouette of a bitten apple against a contrasting background - this is how it is now known all over the world.