The bitterest tears shed over graves are for words
left unsaid and for deeds left undone.
Harriet Beecher Stowe, Little Foxes, 1865
http://www.imag-e-nation.com/sorry_verses_poems_quotes.htm
Saturday, 14 April 2012
Literary Quote !
The bitterest tears shed over graves are for words
left unsaid and for deeds left undone.
Harriet Beecher Stowe, Little Foxes, 1865
http://www.imag-e-nation.com/sorry_verses_poems_quotes.htm
So why an apple? The history of the apple logo
Apple, always seems like a strange name for a computer company and certainly an original one. It is safe to say, its origins in a logo or brand are among the most talked about and speculated. In this blog I have attempted to do a bit of reading for you and sum up the many stories, rumors and truths surrounding the famous mark and indeed the name itself.
So to start with, lets look at the original apple logo from 1976. It featured a hand drawn image of Isaac Newton under the tree where the apple fell and was designed by co-founder Ronald Wayne. It also featured the copy: ‘A Mind Forever Voyaging Through Strange Seas of Thought – Alone’. Perfectly sums up apple right? – especially at the time as lots of what they were doing was so pioneering. The logo did however look a little, shall we say classic, rather than contemporary though. And also the practicality of this being produced on computers was questioned, leading to Steve Jobs deciding a redesign was needed almost immediately.
But lets pause here for a minute. So why the name apple? Obviously looking at the first logo, it would be easy to tie its influence to Isaac Newton, but there a lots of other stories too. Firstly, Steve Jobs liked the Beatles so much that he named it after their record label Also, Jek Rakin, thought that apples was the perfect fruit and without another name he liked went with that. having worked for Atari, he wanted a name that would appear near the top of alphabetical lists. Other ideas suggest apple being the fruit of knowledge, based on the adam and eve story.
One of the most interesting stories was that the original rainbow apple logo was a tribute to Alan Turing, an English mathematician, logician, cryptanalyst and computer scientist, whose concepts played a considerable part in the development of the modern computer system. Turing was homosexual and heavily persecuted for this which was, at the time, illegal in the UK. In 1954 he committed suicide, by cyanide poising. A half eaten apple was found with his body, which was thought to have contained the cyanide. Hence forth a half eaten apple was a symbol for Alan Turing and his life’s work; and thus the apple logo, with a bite out of it was a reference to this. Seemingly the rainbow stripes could also relate to this, being an iconic gay symbol. However, both the company and at the designer however state that there is no real truth in this, as poetic as it is.
Despite the interesting stories, from what we can gather is the truth is much simpler. Apparently it results from Steve Jobs having worked in apple orchards in Oregon and stuck for another name decided to name it after his favourite brand of apples, McIntosh apples. It is spelt differently to the way Apple spell Macintosh for whatever reason, but this seems to be recognized as the most likely origins. Steve Wozniak describes the naming process as a simple one and that “anything that sounded interesting was valid”. So there really was nothing more to it I guess.
So, moving back towards the logo designs, we come nicely to the iconic rainbow logo, designed by Rob Jannoff, which defined the core (no pun intended) shape of what is still used today. There are many questions as to the bite out of the apple with Janoff himself saying that the bite of the apple was added to ensure it resembled an apple and not a cherry. The bite also symbolized knowledge and was a reference to the computer term byte. The colored stripes were apparently to make the logo more accessible and emphasize the modern nature of the application of colour on computer screens for the first time. When Jean Louis Gassée (former apple executive) was asked about his thoughts on the Apple logo he answered: “One of the deep mysteries to me is our logo, the symbol of lust and knowledge, bitten into, all crossed with the colors of the rainbow in the wrong order. You couldn’t dream of a more appropriate logo: lust, knowledge, hope, and anarchy.”
There are countless other stories as to the relevance of the bite, but Janoff describes the process himself as a straight forward one, “when I explain the real reason why I did the bite it’s kind of a let down. But I’ll tell you. I designed it with a bite for scale, so people get that it was an apple not a cherry. Also it was kind of iconic about taking a bite out of an apple. Something that everyone can experience”. He also suggested the striped colours were also about accessibility, “So it represents color bars on the screen. Also, it was an attempt to make the logo very accessible to everyone, especially to young people so that Steve could get them into schools”.
The rainbow logo stuck around for 22 years until Steve Jobs returned to the company in 1997. One of the main reasons for moving into a somewhat simpler form was apparently the production costs. Producing a colored logo was much more expensive, especially on the computers themselves. Michael M. Scott of Apple has called the logo “the most expensive bloody logo ever designed”. There was also the style consideration as well however, of the logo looking dated, and a simpler form needed. Since then it has been used in an aqua format and also a glass style. Jobs had the sense however to keep the silhouette and just simplify it in accordance with the more industrial led product design.
Now, apple has gone even more minimal with the simplistic mono logo which is usually used. It is sometimes used on other products in various other flat colors as well. It goes to show the importance of simplicity in logo design as the same form has been reinvented with such success over so many years. Apple has changed its image and the apple, with such a strong basic shape has been able to work alongside this. Rob Janoff with regards to logo design: “The main thing is to make it simple, because designers especially young designers tend to over-design or clients want too many things in there. I think people who tried to work a logo too hard, having too much meaning, wind up with something that’s too complex. Logos usually have to be interpreted from very-very small to very-very large and that’s not always easy. So, I think simplicity and readability is key.”
Hope you enjoyed this !
Other good references:
http://creativebits.org/interview/interview_rob_janoff_designer_apple_logo
http://www.webdesignerdepot.com/2009/01/the-evolution-of-apple-design-between-1977-2008/
http://www.freddesign.co.uk/2011/07/archive/so-why-an-apple-the-history-of-the-apple-logo/
http://creativebits.org/interview/interview_rob_janoff_designer_apple_logo
www.adweek.com/adfreak/story-behind-apple-logos-evolution-11672
So to start with, lets look at the original apple logo from 1976. It featured a hand drawn image of Isaac Newton under the tree where the apple fell and was designed by co-founder Ronald Wayne. It also featured the copy: ‘A Mind Forever Voyaging Through Strange Seas of Thought – Alone’. Perfectly sums up apple right? – especially at the time as lots of what they were doing was so pioneering. The logo did however look a little, shall we say classic, rather than contemporary though. And also the practicality of this being produced on computers was questioned, leading to Steve Jobs deciding a redesign was needed almost immediately.
But lets pause here for a minute. So why the name apple? Obviously looking at the first logo, it would be easy to tie its influence to Isaac Newton, but there a lots of other stories too. Firstly, Steve Jobs liked the Beatles so much that he named it after their record label Also, Jek Rakin, thought that apples was the perfect fruit and without another name he liked went with that. having worked for Atari, he wanted a name that would appear near the top of alphabetical lists. Other ideas suggest apple being the fruit of knowledge, based on the adam and eve story.
One of the most interesting stories was that the original rainbow apple logo was a tribute to Alan Turing, an English mathematician, logician, cryptanalyst and computer scientist, whose concepts played a considerable part in the development of the modern computer system. Turing was homosexual and heavily persecuted for this which was, at the time, illegal in the UK. In 1954 he committed suicide, by cyanide poising. A half eaten apple was found with his body, which was thought to have contained the cyanide. Hence forth a half eaten apple was a symbol for Alan Turing and his life’s work; and thus the apple logo, with a bite out of it was a reference to this. Seemingly the rainbow stripes could also relate to this, being an iconic gay symbol. However, both the company and at the designer however state that there is no real truth in this, as poetic as it is.
Despite the interesting stories, from what we can gather is the truth is much simpler. Apparently it results from Steve Jobs having worked in apple orchards in Oregon and stuck for another name decided to name it after his favourite brand of apples, McIntosh apples. It is spelt differently to the way Apple spell Macintosh for whatever reason, but this seems to be recognized as the most likely origins. Steve Wozniak describes the naming process as a simple one and that “anything that sounded interesting was valid”. So there really was nothing more to it I guess.
So, moving back towards the logo designs, we come nicely to the iconic rainbow logo, designed by Rob Jannoff, which defined the core (no pun intended) shape of what is still used today. There are many questions as to the bite out of the apple with Janoff himself saying that the bite of the apple was added to ensure it resembled an apple and not a cherry. The bite also symbolized knowledge and was a reference to the computer term byte. The colored stripes were apparently to make the logo more accessible and emphasize the modern nature of the application of colour on computer screens for the first time. When Jean Louis Gassée (former apple executive) was asked about his thoughts on the Apple logo he answered: “One of the deep mysteries to me is our logo, the symbol of lust and knowledge, bitten into, all crossed with the colors of the rainbow in the wrong order. You couldn’t dream of a more appropriate logo: lust, knowledge, hope, and anarchy.”
There are countless other stories as to the relevance of the bite, but Janoff describes the process himself as a straight forward one, “when I explain the real reason why I did the bite it’s kind of a let down. But I’ll tell you. I designed it with a bite for scale, so people get that it was an apple not a cherry. Also it was kind of iconic about taking a bite out of an apple. Something that everyone can experience”. He also suggested the striped colours were also about accessibility, “So it represents color bars on the screen. Also, it was an attempt to make the logo very accessible to everyone, especially to young people so that Steve could get them into schools”.
The rainbow logo stuck around for 22 years until Steve Jobs returned to the company in 1997. One of the main reasons for moving into a somewhat simpler form was apparently the production costs. Producing a colored logo was much more expensive, especially on the computers themselves. Michael M. Scott of Apple has called the logo “the most expensive bloody logo ever designed”. There was also the style consideration as well however, of the logo looking dated, and a simpler form needed. Since then it has been used in an aqua format and also a glass style. Jobs had the sense however to keep the silhouette and just simplify it in accordance with the more industrial led product design.
Now, apple has gone even more minimal with the simplistic mono logo which is usually used. It is sometimes used on other products in various other flat colors as well. It goes to show the importance of simplicity in logo design as the same form has been reinvented with such success over so many years. Apple has changed its image and the apple, with such a strong basic shape has been able to work alongside this. Rob Janoff with regards to logo design: “The main thing is to make it simple, because designers especially young designers tend to over-design or clients want too many things in there. I think people who tried to work a logo too hard, having too much meaning, wind up with something that’s too complex. Logos usually have to be interpreted from very-very small to very-very large and that’s not always easy. So, I think simplicity and readability is key.”
Hope you enjoyed this !
Other good references:
http://creativebits.org/interview/interview_rob_janoff_designer_apple_logo
http://www.webdesignerdepot.com/2009/01/the-evolution-of-apple-design-between-1977-2008/
http://www.freddesign.co.uk/2011/07/archive/so-why-an-apple-the-history-of-the-apple-logo/
http://creativebits.org/interview/interview_rob_janoff_designer_apple_logo
www.adweek.com/adfreak/story-behind-apple-logos-evolution-11672
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