{"id":7049219,"date":"2026-08-27T15:26:31","date_gmt":"2026-08-27T15:26:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peraltafinancing.com\/apple-2\/apple-computer-logo-evolves-with-the-times\/"},"modified":"2026-08-27T15:26:31","modified_gmt":"2026-08-27T15:26:31","slug":"apple-computer-logo-evolves-with-the-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7049219","title":{"rendered":"Apple Computer logo evolves with the times"},"content":{"rendered":"


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\"August August 27, 1999:<\/strong> Apple Computer swaps out the striped, multicolored logo the company had used since 1977 for a new single-color version. The evolution of the iconic Apple logo from rainbow to monochrome shocks many longtime fans.<\/p>\n

However, it is part of a sustained, company-wide overhaul led by Apple CEO Steve Jobs<\/a>. The makeover includes new products, the \u201cThink Different<\/a>\u201d ad campaign and, eventually, the removal of the word \u201cComputer\u201d from the company\u2019s name.
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Apple Computer logo evolution: From woodcut to rainbow to monochrome<\/h2>\n
\"An
A look at the evolving Apple logo over the years.
Photo: Nick DiLallo\/Apple<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In the modern world, a corporate logo is far more than an easily recognizable visual mark. It represents values, vision and corporate identity. A well-designed logo distills a brand\u2019s essence into a single image, forming an instant bridge between a company\u2019s mission and the public\u2019s consciousness.<\/p>\n

Apple\u2019s rainbow-striped, \u201cbitten apple\u201d logo \u2014 used from 1977 to 1999 \u2014 exemplified this principle beautifully. It originally celebrated the Apple II<\/a>\u2018s innovative color display, but the logo also meant much more. It humanized a computer company that sought to blend liberal arts with cutting-edge design.<\/p>\n

More than just eye-catching, the Apple Computer logo became a beloved badge that fans slapped on car bumpers, guitar cases and other objects. It instantly communicated allegiance to Apple as well as cultural cool in a way that no other technology company accomplished, before or after.<\/p>\n

And, as Cracker Barrel recently discovered, tampering with a time-honored logo can trigger an instant backlash<\/a> among a company\u2019s most loyal customers.<\/p>\n

Table of contents: Apple Computer logo evolution<\/h3>\n

1976 to 1977: First Apple Computer logo features a woodcut design and a Newton quote<\/h3>\n
\"Original<\/a>
Ron Wayne drew Apple\u2019s first corporate logo. He tried to include his signature as part of the design, but Steve Jobs made him remove it.
Image: Apple<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Apple\u2019s very first corporate logo<\/a> was actually not the memorable \u201cbitten apple\u201d logo at all. A riff on a Victorian woodcut, the original Apple logo portrayed Sir Isaac Newton<\/a> sitting beneath a tree with a solitary apple dangling over his head.<\/p>\n

A quotation from William Wordsworth\u2019s The Prelude<\/em><\/a> ran around the image\u2019s border: \u201cA mind forever wandering through strange seas of thought, alone.\u201d Apple\u2019s third co-founder, Ron Wayne \u2014 who sold his stake in the company for just $800<\/a> \u2014 designed the original logo.<\/p>\n

1977 to 1984: Next comes the rainbow \u2018bitten Apple\u2019<\/h3>\n
\"Apple's<\/a>
Apple\u2019s early rainbow logo had a bite out of it to stop it looking like a cherry.
Photo: Apple<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

After less than a year, Apple Computer replaced its original logo with the outline of a \u201cbitten apple\u201d that we know today. It was designed by 29-year-old Rob Janoff<\/a>, a junior art designer at Regis McKenna<\/a>, a firm that handled a lot of Apple\u2019s early marketing and publicity.<\/p>\n

The arrival of the second Apple logo coincided with the debut of the Apple II<\/a> at the West Coast Computer Faire. The company\u2019s first mass-market computer, it packed a color screen and marked Apple\u2019s graduation from a small startup to a serious business.<\/p>\n

Apple co-founder Steve Jobs gave Janoff \u2014 who does not receive any royalties for his design<\/a> \u2014 two instructions that guided the evolution of the Apple logo. One, don\u2019t make it cute. And two, find some way to visually incorporate the Apple II\u2019s revolutionary 16-color display.<\/p>\n

Janoff added the bite in the apple to give it a sense of scale when reproduced at different sizes. (It was also a play on the word \u201cbyte.\u201d) The colorful stripes showed off the Apple II\u2019s big feature, while embracing the countercultural tenor of the times.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had a big hippie influence myself, having grown up in North California in the late \u201960s,\u201d Janoff told me for my book The Apple Revolution<\/em><\/a>. \u201cI\u2019d dabbled in all the psychedelic stuff, as well as the music and the visuals. To me, it was more interesting to draw it like that than, say, a red apple. The idea was to make it appealing, and to differentiate it from everything else that was out there.\u201d<\/p>\n

1984 to 1998: Just the rainbow<\/h3>\n
\"Macro<\/a>
Apple\u2019s iconic \u201cbitten apple\u201d rainbow logo debuted in 1977 and lasted 20 years.<\/em>
Photo: D. Griffin Jones\/Cult of Mac<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In 1984, Apple\u2019s rainbow logo was simplified with the launch of the Mac<\/a>. The lowercase word \u201capple\u201d was removed by the famous brand consultancy Landor Associates<\/a>. The design firm also made some small adjustments to the colors and shape of the Apple icon.<\/p>\n

Jean Louis Gass\u00e9e<\/a>, a former Apple executive, famously summarized the legendary rainbow Apple logo as something of a mess. \u201cOne of the deep mysteries to me is our logo,\u201d he said. \u201cThe symbol of lust and knowledge, bitten into, all crossed with the colors of the rainbow in the wrong order. You couldn\u2019t dream of a more appropriate logo: lust, knowledge, hope and anarchy.\u201d<\/p>\n

1998 to 2001: New Apple Computer logo, new direction for the company<\/h3>\n
\"The<\/a>
The Apple logo circa 1999, when Steve Jobs simplified it with a monochrome design.
Photo: Apple<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

For anyone paying attention after Jobs\u2019 return to Cupertino in 1997<\/a>, the changing Apple logo came as no surprise. The original iMac<\/a>, released in 1998, featured a single-color, translucent logo as part of its case design. (The striped Apple logo continued to show up in the company\u2019s software \u2014 for example, in the \u201cApple menu.\u201d)<\/p>\n

On August 27, 1999, the Apple Computer logo officially changed from multicolored to monochrome. The company officially scrapped the rainbow Apple logo, telling vendors not to use it anymore. Cupertino replaced it with single-color versions of the logo in different colors. Vendors could choose between black and red versions of the flat logo.<\/p>\n

The company\u2019s marketing guidelines change<\/h3>\n
\"The<\/a>
The modern monochrome Apple logo debuted in 1997 on the original iMac.
Photo: Jim Abeles<\/a><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cLike our products and our customers, the Apple brand continues to evolve,\u201d Apple wrote in its marketing guidelines, which spelled out the thinking behind the logo change:<\/p>\n

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To reflect this, we\u2019ve made some important changes to the Apple logo and how we use it, and how we expect our channel to use it, too. Don\u2019t worry: We haven\u2019t replaced the logo, just updated it. We\u2019ll continue to reflect who we are and what we stand for as a company in the same timeless symbol: an apple with a bite taken out of it. We\u2019ve reduced some of the clutter in the original design, however, and updated the way we use color and light. In other words, we\u2019ve taken the same standards of style and innovation that make our products and our design unmistakable and applied them to the company logo. Instead of rainbow stripes, solid colors. Instead of just one solid color, a palette of logo colors to suit a variety of uses. Solid colors emphasize the timeless shape of the Apple logo.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

2001 to 2007: Apple\u2019s \u2018Aqua\u2019 logo gets metallic<\/h3>\n
\"Apple's<\/a>
Apple\u2019s logo got the \u201cAqua\u201d treatment, modeled on the look of Mac OS X, in 2001.
Photo: Apple<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In 2000, Apple upgraded the single-color logo with a glassy look inspired by the company\u2019s new \u201cAqua\u201d design language<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The new logo was inspired by the watery, translucent theme of Mac OS X, Apple\u2019s new operating system based on NeXTSTEP.<\/p>\n

2007 to 2015: Polished-metal logo and Apple\u2019s changed name<\/h3>\n
\"The<\/a>
The Apple logo became distinctly metallic in 2007.
Photo: Apple<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Then, in 2007, the Apple logo adopted a new polished-metal look that reflected the company\u2019s newfound love of aluminum. The first aluminum iMac arrived that year. And the updated logo reflected the classy-looking materials preferred by Apple design chief Jony Ive<\/a>. (Aside from the logo, Apple Computer also changed its name to Apple Inc. in 2007 to reflect the company\u2019s broadened focus on consumer electronics like the iPod<\/a> and the soon-to-launch iPhone<\/a>.)<\/p>\n

2015 to today: Apple logo goes flat again<\/h3>\n
\"Apple<\/a>
Apple again flattened and simplified its logo in 2015.
Photo: Ste Smith\/Cult of Mac<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

And in 2015, Apple \u201cflattened\u201d its monochrome logo for a minimalist look in several colors: white, silver and black (and sometimes green on Earth Day<\/a>). This brought the \u201cbitten Apple\u201d logo more in line with the controversial \u201cflat\u201d design<\/a> that iOS 7 introduced in 2013.<\/p>\n

Which version of the Apple logo do you prefer? Leave your comments below.<\/p>\n

Bonus: How to type the Apple logo emoji<\/h3>\n

Find out how to type the Apple emoji<\/a>. It\u2019s easy to do on a Mac, and you can add \uf8ff to texts on iPhone and iPad, too.<\/p>\n

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How to type the Apple logo<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n