Logos through the Ages, Part 1

My friend, Buck McMurray, wrote a blog post about the power of brands to touch people on an emotional level, to make them a part of the brand's "tribe."  Click on the title of this post to be re-directed to his blog.

He brought up "logo" creation and its effect on people, which got me thinking about how brand logos change over time to reflect the attitudes of consumers at a given point in time.  I looked it up online, and the examples below shocked me at how much these iconic brands had changed over the years.

Apple's logos through the years

The 1976 Apple logo is SO different that you couldn't even recognize it as a computer company, other than the fact that the bottom ribbon does say, "Computer."  Disconnect!  It was good that they changed it in 1998, because monitors had moved way beyond the basic color scheme that Apple's second logo represented.

I actually like the 1998 logo better than the current logo, but I understand why they chose the new one; it's shiny, sleek and "modern".  Plus, the 1998 version looks kind of like a placeholder because they couldn't think of anything better at the time, but knew they needed SOMETHING different.

The Take-away
No matter what you decide to do with a logo, make sure it represents your brand in a way that inspires people and makes them want to buy.  Apple's original logo had nothing to do with computers other than a word at the bottom.

Next time: Starbucks!