When did the Apple logo appear?
Apple owes its first logo to Ron Wayne. Now the name of this man has almost been forgotten and it is unlikely that people well versed in the history of Apple remember him. Although this man was the third co-founder of the tiny Apple company. But no one remembers him for a very simple reason, this loser, what else can you call a person who got rid of the shares of a young company just 11 days after its founding. He sold them for $800. Imagine how much money he would have now. After all, he had 10 percent of the shares, and in modern times this is a cosmic amount.
The symbol that Wayne came up with for his company has nothing in common with the current emblem. It was a carefully designed picture in which Isaac Newton occupied the main place, with an apple on top, symbolizing insight. Much later, Apple will remember Newton when it begins to develop the first PDAs.
The first Apple logo has small words written on it, if you look closely you can read " Newton... A Mind Forever Voyaging Through Strange Seas of Thought... Alone", which can be translated into Russian as " Newton...The mind always sails through many seas of thought...alone". This paragraph was borrowed from a fairly well-known poem in the West by William Wordsworth called “The Prelude.”
And indeed the symbol turned out to be very sensible. All these mysterious references to Isaac Newton gave the logo a certain air of mystery. However, this logo was very unsuitable for modern business. It is for this reason that a year after the founding of Apple, Steve Jobs decided to find a completely new symbol. So he went to a wonderful designer named Rob Janoff. Steve Jobs gave the task to create such an emblem so that it would look modern and at the same time be perfectly recognizable among many others like it.
For a week, this graphic designer was completely occupied with the task at hand. Many years later, he was interviewed in which he revealed the secret of how he came up with this logo. Rob went to the store where he bought apples of various shades, then he put them in a vase and began to draw. Gradually removing various elements. He drew that very bite quite deliberately, because his task was to depict such an image of the fruit so that it would be firmly associated with an apple, and not, say, with berries, vegetables or fruits. Moreover, in English the word byte and bite off are written almost identically (byte/bite), this added even more meaning.
Myths of the appearance of the Apple logo
The first legend. Rob depicted the company logo with rainbow colors. Subsequently, many people began to slander that this coloring was somehow very similar to the symbolism of gay minorities, and, speaking in Russian, to the symbolism of homosexuals. Although this is fundamentally wrong, because that famous emblem began to be used a whole year earlier than the buggers invented their logo in the form of a rainbow.
Second legend. It is believed that the apple painted in rainbow colors is a kind of tribute to A. Turing. This man is famous for being able to hack Enigma and Kriegsmarine code, and after the war had a strong influence on the development of information technology. For example, he came up with a special intelligence test, which later became known as Turing test.
However, there were some buggers here too. In the West, there is no escape from this, total pederasty. So, it turns out that Turing was gay and the authorities began to persecute him for homosexuality, and a not very bright future awaited him. After all, serving two years in prison, where every prisoner knows about your inclinations, is not very similar to a walk through a flowery meadow. As a result, he was forced to undergo a course of hormone therapy, as a result of which many women develop breasts and experience infertility. Moreover, the tolerant authorities forbade this talented pederast to do his favorite thing. No, in this case we mean not love games with men, but cryptography.
This was a cruel blow to the fragile and tender soul of the gay scientist. As a result of mental anguish, he committed suicide some time later. Yes, being a homosexual in the West is a thankless task, and sometimes even dangerous for the psyche. What does an apple have to do with it, you ask? The thing is that Turing decided to leave this life that was disgusting to him in an unusual way. After all, homosexuals are creative people. So he bought an apple at the store and injected it with a lethal dose of potassium cyanide, after which he bit into it with gusto. However, alas, he did not have time to chew this juicy piece.
However, Rob Yanov has his own opinion on these legends. He believes that there is no double bottom in the Apple logo. The company's rainbow symbol was supposed to represent the fact that their company is engaged in the development and production of computers, and specifically with color monitors. At that blessed time, the Mac computer screen had the ability to transmit six shades. It was these colors that were included in Apple logo. Moreover, all the shades were installed in random order, and only the green color was specially placed first by Rob.
This rainbow logo has existed for twenty-two years.. After the “prodigal son” Steve Jobs returned to the company in 1998, who had previously been expelled in disgrace, positive changes began. In those distant times, this corporation had very big problems with cash. Most of Apple's competitors slept and saw that this company was about to go down. In order to survive it was necessary to radically change the company's policy.
And you ask, what miracle helped bring the dying company back to life? And everyone was saved by a wonderful designer named Jonathan Ive. He created the latest case for the brand new IMAC G3.
This Mac pulled Apple out of the financial abyss and opened up new horizons for it. In addition, from that moment on, this company was noticed at the highest level; its logo began to be used in glossy magazines, TV series and films.
It became clear that the "rainbow apple" logo would look very strange on the Macintosh g3. Therefore, reluctantly, the company's managers decided to rebrand and make a new design. Therefore, starting in 1998, instead of the color “bitten apple” emblem, a monochrome logo appeared. So the company crossed the threshold of childhood and became mature and strong, and it seems that nothing can shake its unshakable confidence, except perhaps the “Financial Apocalypse”.
The evolution of the Apple logo
Today Apple is a leading manufacturer of mobile phones, software, players, and tablets. The history of Apple is certainly connected with Steve Jobs. Today, the equipment produced by the corporation is highly valued for its impeccable quality. Currently, the total value of the corporation is estimated at more than 500 billion US dollars. The company carefully monitors trends in IT technologies and implements them into the production process. Surely readers of the site will be interested in the history of the creation and development of the company.
History of the name
The official date of birth of the organization is April 1, 1976. It was on this day that Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak assembled their first computer by hand. It was called Apple Computer. You should understand how the company got the name Apple.
First Apple Computer
There are several versions. One of them is Jobs's desire for the name to be more conveniently located in the telephone directory. So the “name” of the company occupied a line immediately below the name of the Atari organization, which was developing computer games. In addition, the apple symbolizes the fight for the preservation of nature and the environment, and the corporation was the first in the world to use old consumables to produce new equipment.
History of the logo
The history of the creation of the Apple logo is quite interesting. Its original symbol was a man sitting under a tree with a falling apple above his head. It becomes immediately clear that this picture depicted the great scientist Isaac Newton. Most likely, there were also references in the Bible, because a bitten apple symbolizes temptation. It is worth noting that the Macintosh computer models were named after a variety of apples that the developer of this product line was very fond of.
Apple's first logo
However, the original logo was not memorable and was not suitable for mass sales. Then the story of the creation of the Apple logo moves into a different direction. The company's designer (Rob Yanovu) was walking down the street when he stopped by a local supermarket and bought some apples. Arriving home, he began cutting them and examining them from different angles, after which he depicted one monochrome fruit. True, for some reason he drew the apple slightly bitten.
Jobs liked Rob's sketch, but decided it would be better to color the apple. The head of the advertising agency was against this decision, because at that time printing using color ink was many times more expensive than it is now. However, Steve insisted on his own, and soon the apple that everyone knows today appeared on computers.
The evolution of the Apple logo
The colors for this were chosen in random order. The only thing Jobs insisted on was that a green tint should decorate the design at the top. The type of fruit did not change until 1998. However, then logos painted in black, white and silver began to be placed on the devices. This is the history of the Apple logo.
First computers
In the spring of 1976, the Apple Computer I model appeared in American hardware stores, costing $666.66. Over the course of several months, its creators collect and sell 175 products. Outwardly, it looked like a motherboard with no sound, no case, no keyboard. The following year, Michael Scott began to occupy the post of director of the company.
A new model appears, which was called the Apple II. It was the first PC equipped with color graphics. At this stage, the history of Apple's development takes a new turn. The equipment had special commands for working with sound, as well as a small built-in speaker. In addition, a power supply and keyboard were available. At that time, the computer became a real breakthrough, and its sales for the first time in the history of PCs exceeded a million units. It is worth mentioning that until 1993, more than 5 million models were assembled and sold. Initially, options with an 8-bit operating system were developed, and a little later 16-bit computers appeared on sale.
Apple II model
Lisa and Macintosh
Beginning in 1979, Apple brand employee Jeff Raskin began working on a new PC, which was named Macintosh. In fact, this was the first technology whose monoblock contained everything an average user needed to work. At the same time, in 1983, another model appeared on the household appliances market. She was named Lisa - that was the name of Steve Jobs' daughter. However, unfortunately, it did not become popular and in demand.
Model Lisa
The beginning of the 80s turned out to be quite a difficult time for the company. Due to regular absenteeism, Steve Jobs was forced to fire forty company employees. At the same time, Apple Computer was launched for an initial IPO and the owners began to sell shares on one of the largest financial exchanges in the world - NASDAQ. However, this step did not have the desired effect and articles began to appear in newspapers reporting the imminent decline of the corporation.
The situation began to change in 1983, when a talented top manager named Scully John became the president of the organization. Before working at Apple, he successfully managed the affairs of PepsiCo. True, friction immediately began between him and Steve Jobs.
On January 22, 1984, the first Macintosh was introduced to the public, radically changing the way ordinary people viewed personal computers. This event became a new milestone in the history of Apple Corporation. By the way, an advertising clip, filmed specifically for the release of the Macintosh based on the plot of D. Orwell’s work, was awarded the Grand Prix in Cannes. Even today, it is considered one of the most original commercials in history.
First Macintosh
The model received the prefix 512K and began to be sold at a price of 2,495 US dollars. Its creators try to make a technique that any user who does not have the proper qualifications can master in a matter of minutes. True, the first Mac OS microprocessors were not very powerful and efficient. They lacked such things as, for example, the ability to simultaneously solve many problems and protected memory. However, over time, developers eliminated these shortcomings, and the Macintosh was able to compete with other similar technology.
Time passed, and the need arose to create a new operating system. Having carefully considered all the nuances, the company's owners decided to use modern developments from a company called NeXT in their new computers. It used an operating system under the general name UNIX. The next system was called Mac OS X and was designed so that users could smoothly migrate from older models to new ones.
The departure and return of Steve Jobs
In 1985, Apple's history was at a turning point. It was at this time that the President of the United States of America, Ronald Reagan, awarded Steve Wozniacki and Steve Jobs a medal for a powerful breakthrough in IT technology. At the same time, Jobs, who is the ideological inspirer of the corporation, leaves it, having quarreled with members of the board of directors. At the same time, sales of personal computers and the value of the company's shares plummet. Experts attribute this precisely to the departure of Jobs, because he was able to advertise the technology he was creating in a very original way. Many believe that this will be the end of Apple's development story.
Ronald Reagan presents Steve Jobs with a medal for a powerful breakthrough in IT technology. 1985
In the period from 1995 to 1997, the development, assembly and sale of equipment began to cause serious losses. At the end of the 90s, their amount tended to 2 billion US dollars. The board of directors decides to ask Steve Jobs to return to the corporation.
Revolution in the 2000s
In 2001, the iPod audio player appeared on the computer market. Thanks to its capabilities, this compact media player instantly gained well-deserved popularity. In 2003, an online store opened online that sold music and listened to it in the players of this manufacturer. The newly opened supermarket was called the iTunes Store. In 2007, the corporation demonstrated a new development - the company's first mobile phone, called the iPhone. Since then, the popularity of the device has been growing every year, and its sales have broken all records. Since 2008, another online store has appeared on the network. It's called the App Store. The principle of operation and payment system of the resource is not much different from iTunes.
The first iPod audio player
Appearance of the first iPhone
As of 2010, the company has unquestioned authority among computer equipment manufacturers. It was at this time that the first tablet computer, called the iPad, went on sale. In the first month of its release, more than 1 million copies were sold. From this moment on, the corporation's success story leaves no doubt about the genius of the brand's creators.
This is what the first iPad looks like
Since 2011, Apple has become the most valuable commercial organization in the world. True, its owners failed to establish themselves at this peak for a long time. In 2013, its factories began producing 64-bit chips designed to work with ARM architecture. The company produces a 2-core microprocessor, which was named A7. In 2014, compact portable Apple Watch devices appeared on the electronics market.
Apple Watch
Acquisition of companies and appearance in Russia
Naturally, such a large giant as Apple acquired shares of smaller organizations. So, from 1996 to 2012, the corporation absorbed such companies as NeXT, P. A. Semi, Quattro Wireless, Siri, Anobit Technologies.
The success story of the concern in Russia begins in 2005, when the first Russian Apple Center store opened. Just two years later, in 2007, the company’s official representative office was opened in the country. In 2012, the owners of the corporation registered the Apple Rus company, which to this day is engaged in retail and wholesale sales of electronic equipment.
The first Apple store in Moscow
How is the company doing today?
During the development of the company, it experienced both successes and severe failures. Today, in order to manage such a giant, its own corporate culture has been specially developed. Before starting to create new device models, management clearly defines the responsibilities and roles of each employee. Any product of the company is developed in an atmosphere of strict secrecy.
The company also has its own sales concept. It clearly describes how stores should be decorated. For managers and sellers, principles of trading equipment and psychological techniques used on buyers have been compiled.
Sellers are dressed in blue uniforms. Before starting their duties, they must complete a 14-day training course. During their work, managers undergo additional training. In addition, they are trained to use services to diagnose devices.
While still alive, Steve Jobs independently developed the company's advertising strategy. Today, tablet computers, mobile phones, audio players, and watches come out of Apple assembly lines. In addition, specialists are constantly working to improve the software.
In 2016, the company's management made an interesting statement that soon the concern's technology would operate on the principle of end-to-end encryption. Its essence lies in the signal transmission algorithm: data will be encoded on users’ gadgets, then transmitted to the receiving equipment and decoded. This innovation is connected with the fact that they are increasingly talking about tracking citizens by the US government.
The first Apple logo was created by Ron Wayne. This name says little not only to ordinary people, but even to geeks. Meanwhile, Ronald is the third co-founder of Apple, and also the biggest loser of the 20th century. He sold his 10 percent stake in the company for $800 just 11 days after registration. If he had not taken this rash step, Ronald would now be one of the wealthiest people in the world with a fortune of $30 billion. Analysts say Apple's value will triple in three years, which means Wayne may have lost about $100 billion simply by not believing in Apple.
The logo created by Ronald Wayne has nothing in common with the current one. It was a miniature work of art. In the center was the outstanding English scientist Isaac Newton, on whom an apple was about to fall (insight!). In the future, the “Newton theme” will be continued when Apple releases its PDA.
If you enlarge the logo, you will notice that along the border there is the text: Newton... A Mind Forever Voyaging Through Strange Seas of Thought... Alone (Newton... A mind that sails alone through strange seas of thought). This is a line from William Wordsworth's autobiographical poem "The Prelude", which in its entirety goes like this:
And from my pillow, looking forth by light
Of moon or favoring stars, I could be held
The antechapel where the statue stood
Of Newton with his prism and silent face,
The marble index of a mind for ever
Voyaging through strange seas of Thought, alone.
Translated it looks like this:
From my pillow, illuminated by the light
I could see the moon and good stars
On the pedestal is a statue of Newton.
He is holding a prism. Quiet face
Like the dial of a mind that's alone
Sailing through the strange seas of Thought.
The logo turned out to be interesting (all these references to Newton, who really was lonely, a touch of mystery, etc.), but not very suitable for the realities of modern business. Therefore, Wayne's work was used for about a year. Steve Jobs then turned to graphic designer Rob Janoff for help. It was necessary to create a simple, modern-looking, well-recognizable logo.
Rob completed this task in about a week. In an interview with the Revert to Saved blog, Yanov talked about how the logo was created. Rob bought apples, put them in a bowl and began to draw, gradually removing unnecessary details. The famous “bite” was made on purpose: the logo had to be drawn so that it would be strongly associated with apples, and not other fruits/vegetables/berries. The similarity of the pronunciation byte/bite (byte/bite) also played into its favor.
Rob Yanov made the logo in color, which provided good ground for speculation and myths. The most common one, actively supported by Win and Linux users, comes down to the fact that the Apple symbol reflects support for sexual minorities. This is not entirely true. Apple truly supports the LGBT community, as evidenced by recent video, however, the color logo was created a year before gays began using the rainbow as a symbol.
The second myth is even more interesting. They say that an apple painted in the colors of the rainbow is a kind of sign of respect to Alan Turing. Turing is an outstanding English mathematician and cryptographer who made a significant contribution to the fight against fascism. During World War II, he cracked the Kriegsmarine and Enigma ciphers, and after that he had a huge influence on computer science (Turing test, work on the theory of artificial intelligence). Turing's merits did not save him from prosecution for homosexuality. Alan faced two years in prison if he did not agree to hormone therapy (which, among other things, led to breast growth and chemical castration). In addition, Turing was deprived of his most valuable asset: the opportunity to do what he loved - cryptography. As a result, Alan became a recluse, and then completely committed suicide. Moreover, the form of suicide was very unusual: Turing bit off an apple, which he had previously pumped with cyanide.
Rob Yanov refutes both myths. According to him, there is no need to look for a secret meaning. Apple's color logo was intended to reflect the fact that the company produces computers with color monitors. The Mac display at that time could display six colors. These colors were precisely indicated on the logo. There is also no pattern in the arrangement of colors. Yanov placed the colors in random order, only the green color was placed first intentionally.
The logo existed in this form for 22 years. In 1998, Steve Jobs, who had previously been ousted from Apple, returned to the company. Apple was experiencing huge financial problems at the time. Competitors sarcastically advised to close the shop and distribute the money to shareholders. Drastic measures were needed. And do you know what pulled Apple out of the crisis? Industrial designer Jonathan Ive has come up with a new case for the iMac G3.
Computers that look like candy canes literally saved Apple. Moreover, they became iconic - their images appeared in films, TV series, and glossy magazines. It is clear that a colorful logo on a colored poppy would look stupid. Apple has moved away from using a color logo. So, since 1998, we have seen a laconic monochrome logo. The company has matured. And with her, so do we.
Rob Janow created an outstanding logo. This is not a banal insignia, but a real Symbol. But Yanov’s achievements were not particularly noted by Apple. At the beginning of this post I mentioned the Nike logo. It was created by Carolyn Davidson, a student and freelancer from Oregon. Nike, a young company at the time, paid $35 for the work. But ten years later, the company’s founder, Phillip Knight, presented her with an expensive ring with a diamond “stroke” - the signature style, as well as an envelope with company shares. Knight appreciated the designer's work, making her a co-owner of Nike (albeit with a small stake).
Secret meanings that do not exist. Some associate the bitten apple with original sin. According to another version, the logo was created in memory of the founder of computer science, Alan Turing, who died with a bitten apple in his hand. Despite this, the designer who developed the logo has a rational explanation for this choice.
Specialist Rob Yanov, who created the color Apple logo, told Logo Design Love why the company's 1977 logo looked the way it did.
1977 Apple logo creator Rob Yanow
Logo Design Love: Is the Apple logo the best thing you've ever designed?
Rob Yanov: Yes, nothing compares to this work.
Have you ever asked Jobs why he named the company Apple?
Honestly, no. I know that for a while Steve ate only fruit. He then lived on a ranch or farm in Northern California and maintained an apple orchard (he considered apples the ideal food). He had a list of ideas for what to name the company, and he had to choose one in order to sign all the documents the next day. The name Apple was at the top of the list, and the company's creators could not come up with anything better. Jobs and Wozniak chose this name despite the threat of a lawsuit from Apple Records.
Why is the apple bitten?
Like many stories, the “legend” of the bite has been retold and changed many times. I created a silhouette of an apple, but it needed to be distinguished from other round fruits. Then I did what everyone does with an apple - I “bite” it. It's funny that 10 years after creating the logo, I started seeing stories about why the apple wasn't whole. Admittedly, many of these stories are more interesting than my logical explanation. The fact that people believe in mysterious stories tells me that the Apple brand means more to them than just their love for the company's devices.
How did Jobs react to the presentation of the logo?
He just smiled, nodded and didn't say anything. I didn't have to describe my idea for long; we both liked it.
You said that the logo consisted of colored stripes to represent the full color of Apple monitors. How did the audience receive it?
The colorful stripes did illustrate the main difference between Apple and its competitors, but they served another function. My biggest challenge was to design a logo that would show that the computer was friendly enough to be brought home and used by the family. At that time (in 1977 - editor's note) computers evoked rather negative associations. I wanted to create a positive connection with Apple devices.
Apple II computer released in 1977
How do you think the logo contributed to the company's success?
The company's success lay in the fact that Steve Jobs knew well what people needed from technology even before they knew about it. He developed very high quality standards and product design was also important. Therefore, it seems to me that the logo did not play a big role in the success of the company. People love the Apple brand name because they like the technology of this manufacturer. If they didn’t like the brand name, they wouldn’t put it on the rear window of the car.
On the pages of our website we have already talked about the history of the creation of the store, as well as the voice assistant. Today we will talk about an equally important thing - about Apple logo, which is known throughout the world. Not everyone knows exactly how the MacBook Pro differs from the Air, but almost everyone instantly recognizes the logo in the form of a bitten apple. In this article we will talk not only about who and when it was created, but also what the company’s earlier logos looked like.
So, Apple's first logo was completely different from today. Him in 1976 created by the third co-founder of the company Ronald Wayne, who is rightfully considered one of the biggest losers of the 20th century. The fact is that he sold his 10% stake in the company 11 days after its registration. Given Apple's annual growth, Ron would now be a billionaire, worth about $40 billion.
The logo depicts an English scientist Isaac Newton, on whom the apple will soon fall. On the edges of the logo you can see the inscription: Newton... A Mind Forever Voyaging Through Strange Seas of Thought... Alone (Newton... A Mind Forever Voyaging Through Strange Seas of Thought). This is a line from William Wordsworth's autobiographical poem "The Prelude." It is worth saying that the logo turned out to be very interesting and unusual, but completely unsuitable for a technology company. So in less than a year Steve Jobs contacted a graphic designer Rob Yanov, who was required to create a modern, recognizable and good-looking logo.
The result was a well-known bitten apple, which is still the Apple logo today. However, then, in 1976, it was multi-colored. The colors were not chosen by chance: they symbolize the fact that Apple in those years was one of the few to produce computers with color monitors that could display six colors. They found their place in the logo, and the colors are arranged in a completely random order.
IN 1998 year, welcome back to Apple Steve Jobs the logo was changed to a single color black, which we can still see on our Macs. It looks concise and simple, reflecting very well the basic idea of all Apple products. However, on WWDC 2012 the company used a different, very unusually colored logo.
I must admit that it looks very nice, but it is stupid to expect that the company will change the logo again, since another option was used. Apparently, the company will delight us with new versions of the logo every year. WWDC, indirectly reflecting the direction of development for this year.
Well, as we see, the logo of the most famous company in the world has come a long way before reaching its final version. However, we need to thank for its creation Rob Yanov, who owns the very idea of the bitten apple, so well recognized today throughout the world.
