5 ms·

I Invented … the Apple Logo

90 points by gozzoo 15y ago

macuenca 15y ago
During my senior year in college I built a company with a very good friend of mine. I came out with the name by picking random letters written in pieces of paper out of a plastic bag, iterating over and over until they formed an easy to pronounce two syllables word with the .COM extension available. After that, we needed a website, and to build it, we needed a logo, so we bought one on the Internet for $11 in one of those websites that sell templates and logos, I don't even remember the name but I can't forget the amount we paid for it. We had the company for more than five years, gained a lot of experience, made a profit and had a successful exit before embarking on new adventures. I am 100% sure we could have done exactly the same without a logo or with a completely different one.
- godDLL 15y ago
  So you would gladly do business under the name 'Vag', and your logo would be a stylized tulip (like the ones you can see in 'The Wall')? Or did you have something more specific in mind?
  - burgerbrain 15y ago
    Clearly there is a difference between "logo" and "logo referencing female genitalia".
    - godDLL 15y ago
      As is evident from my comment, I don't find that quite as clear. And if the world seems that obvious to you, if you have it all figured out, I'd like to see you share more of your viewpoint.
      - burgerbrain 15y ago
        Oh, the world doesn't always seem so obvious to me. For example, I have no idea whatsoever what you are attempting to say.
        godDLL 15y ago
        That words matter. That people attach meaning to words. And symbols too. And that saying it ain't so is bullshitting yourself. Which is what macuenca is doing. You helped.
        burgerbrain 15y ago
        macuenca is not suggesting that you abandon common sense and veto power while choosing a name/logo. I really have no idea where you have gotten that idea.
        godDLL 15y ago
        The casual in his tone of dismissal. I might be misreading, no being a native speaker.
- deleted 15y ago
  [deleted]
trafficlight 15y ago
Why was it done pro bono?
- russell 15y ago
  At the time Apple was tiny with little money. It had sold only 50 Apple I's to Byte shop. Regis McKenna was way bigger than Apple. It was common for PR firms, lawyers, even landlords, to do work for free or a little stock in the expectation that the new startup would grow up into a big client. Some even did. Pro-bono doesnt catch the spirit; it was an ad hoc investment.
  - alanfalcon 15y ago
    And it worked! Steve Jobs had quite the relationship with Regis McKenna as described in Steve's biography. Regis McKenna even helped shape the "antenna-gate" response.
  - rabidsnail 15y ago
    "on spec" would be a more apt phrase.
leviathant 15y ago
Interesting to contrast this story with that of the lady who designed the Nike logo; http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2004273/Woman-designed-Nike-swoosh-explains-story-inception-40-years-ago.html http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2004273/Woman-design...

90 points by gozzoo 15y ago

During my senior year in college I built a company with a very good friend of mine. I came out with the name by picking random letters written in pieces of paper out of a plastic bag, iterating over and over until they formed an easy to pronounce two syllables word with the .COM extension available. After that, we needed a website, and to build it, we needed a logo, so we bought one on the Internet for $11 in one of those websites that sell templates and logos, I don't even remember the name but I can't forget the amount we paid for it. We had the company for more than five years, gained a lot of experience, made a profit and had a successful exit before embarking on new adventures. I am 100% sure we could have done exactly the same without a logo or with a completely different one.

godDLL 15y ago
So you would gladly do business under the name 'Vag', and your logo would be a stylized tulip (like the ones you can see in 'The Wall')? Or did you have something more specific in mind?
- burgerbrain 15y ago
  Clearly there is a difference between "logo" and "logo referencing female genitalia".
  - godDLL 15y ago
    As is evident from my comment, I don't find that quite as clear. And if the world seems that obvious to you, if you have it all figured out, I'd like to see you share more of your viewpoint.
    - burgerbrain 15y ago
      Oh, the world doesn't always seem so obvious to me. For example, I have no idea whatsoever what you are attempting to say.
      - godDLL 15y ago
        That words matter. That people attach meaning to words. And symbols too. And that saying it ain't so is bullshitting yourself. Which is what macuenca is doing. You helped.
        burgerbrain 15y ago
        macuenca is not suggesting that you abandon common sense and veto power while choosing a name/logo. I really have no idea where you have gotten that idea.
        godDLL 15y ago
        The casual in his tone of dismissal. I might be misreading, no being a native speaker.
deleted 15y ago
[deleted]

trafficlight 15y ago

Why was it done pro bono?

russell 15y ago
At the time Apple was tiny with little money. It had sold only 50 Apple I's to Byte shop. Regis McKenna was way bigger than Apple. It was common for PR firms, lawyers, even landlords, to do work for free or a little stock in the expectation that the new startup would grow up into a big client. Some even did. Pro-bono doesnt catch the spirit; it was an ad hoc investment.
- alanfalcon 15y ago
  And it worked! Steve Jobs had quite the relationship with Regis McKenna as described in Steve's biography. Regis McKenna even helped shape the "antenna-gate" response.
- rabidsnail 15y ago
  "on spec" would be a more apt phrase.

leviathant 15y ago

Interesting to contrast this story with that of the lady who designed the Nike logo; http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2004273/Woman-designed-Nike-swoosh-explains-story-inception-40-years-ago.html http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2004273/Woman-design...