The Logo Evolution of 15 Corporate Brands
Have you ever thought about the background to the Apple logo? What about the Firefox one? These iconic brands have a past and interesting old logos, come and take a look!
Hello everyone,
Brand Evolution:
Probably you have seen most of these logos everywhere, but have you ever wondered about their evolution, their background? Did you know that Apple original logo was Isaac Newton under an apple tree or did you know Google first logo was designed in GIMP ?
Today I’m going to do something a bit different and track the evolution of 15 Corporate Brand Logos to see if the changes made to the corporate icon over the decades seems logical and well-executed.
Let’s take a look at the origin of the companies logos and how they evolved over time:
Shell:
With Shell evolution line you can really see the ”adapt to the times” ideal going on here. Coloring and Lines were adapted to the time changes to keep an image that reflects it’s era.
Alfa Romeo:
In Alfa Romeo case, there was a big re branding in 1910 where they passed from the first Art Deco inspired logo to the actual iconic circle one that they still keep with small detail improvements over the time.
Starbucks:
Starbucks is one of the cases that came back to the roots after some initial brand mix up, as you can see, the actual logo gets everything but the color from the first one and cleans the lines to create an iconic circle logo thats is known everywhere now!
Nike:
Nike started with the true and only ‘Swoosh’ logo created in 1971 by Carolyn Davidson. The logo represents the wing of the Greek Goddess ‘Nike’ which the company takes its name from. They simplified it till they knew the name wasn’t necessary anymore and so we simply see the ‘Swoosh’ everywhere now.
Kodak:
Kodak started with an Art Deco logo as well as Alfa Romeo, then they added the coloring and just kept going simple and simple till the final use of just the name in a modern font and with an unique “a” that gives the logo that contemporary look.
Apple Inc.:
The big Apple started with a really interesting logo designed in 1976 by Ronald Wayne that represented sir Isaac Newton sitting under a tree with an apple dangling precipitously above his head. Then the company moved to the now world famous apple with a bite logo and it abandoned the rainbow to fit their new product design lines.
Nokia:
Nokia had a strange start just like Apple, the first logo was for the paper mill at the Tammerkoski Rapids in south-western Finland where the company started. Then it moved to Finnish Rubber Works, which later became Nokia’s rubber business. The first ‘communication’ related logo in 1965 happened for the merge of all companies to create the Nokia Corporation. In 1998 Nokia adapted the modern lettering they still use now and became the world leader in mobile phones.
Peugeot:
Peugeot always had the Lion as icon. They tried lion poses, lion heads, badge types and they finally reduced the lion to it’s lines and the pose that first appeared in 1950, adding the metal styling in 1998 to give it the young and modern look it looked for.
Adobe:
Adobe started to focus on programming PostScript, a programming language used in desktop publishing, and their first logo sure reflects that. Then they tried to make the “A” an icon and came back to show the full name. Usually they are complementing each other on today’s product boxes.
Pepsi:
Pepsi keeps changing and to the eyes of some, making a lot of mistakes along the way. Started with classic typography, moved on to the bottle top style and then changed to the circle icon with the 3 stripes that got a lot of bad critics with the latest design.
IBM:
IBM always went with typography to have their brand icon. In 1947, IBM changed its logo to a simple font to reflect their move from punched-card tabulating to computers and still keeps this typeface, now with solid letters with horizontal stripes to suggest “speed and dynamism.”
Google:
Our dear Google didn’t change much since it was started in a friend’s garage by Larry Page and Sergey Brin. Actually, Sergey designed the first logo in GIMP. Then they had a version with “!” copying Yahoo! and now they use the version created by Art Professor Ruth Kedar with the oocasional doodle created by severall artists to commemorate world events.
Microsoft:
Microsoft is also one of those companies that always went with typography for their brand icon. After the initial groovy logo, they changed it to the so called “Blibbet” Logo in 1975 but it got replaced by the “Pac-Man” Logo, designed by Scott Baker and used since 1987. Since then Microsoft tried to add two different slogans and is now using “Your potential. Our passion.” with the “Pac-Man” Logo.
Firefox:
Firefox first logo reflects Firefox first two names: ‘Phoenix’ and ‘Firebird’. These names created some trademark conflicts and the open source web browser name was changed to “Mozilla Firefox” with the new logo representing a Fox hugging the World. The logo got some detail retouching and was kept since then.
Ford:
Ford first logo reflects the first company name: ” Ford Motor Co.”. In 1912, the logo had a makeover and the final typeface still used today was used as well as the first version of the blue oval. In 2003 the actual logo was released after some shape testing in the previous ones, and it was called the “Centennial Blue Oval”.
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February 18, 2010
Very unique and impressive ideas
January 22, 2010
Nice collection. Love the Apple and Firefox logo evolution :)
September 10, 2009
Great showcase of brand evolution. I had never seen Microsoft’s original logos or the first Firefox logo. Thankfully they continue to update and refine them. Some needed more love then others over time haha.
September 14, 2009
“Some needed more love then others over time haha.” – definetly :D it keeps going like that.
September 2, 2009
Awesome post….i love it
September 6, 2009
Thanks :D
September 2, 2009
Coca Cola is only few in market who didn’t change its corporate identity since its establishment. correct me if i’m wrong.
September 6, 2009
You are unfortunatley…
http://www.underconsideration.com/brandnew/archives/coca-cola_vs_pepsi_revised_edition.php
September 6, 2009
lol :D
August 31, 2009
Look at the oldest apple logo. Is that apple falling on Newtons head???
August 31, 2009
yes exactly :)
October 5, 2009
there is one more i am rather positive it was in the documentary about apple it was still the apple just with out the chunk missing
August 30, 2009
Very cool article, thanks for sharing it :)
August 26, 2009
Very interesting. Logos really do come a long way over the course of a company’s life. I wrote a similar post a while back with some different examples. Please check it out and comment. I would love to hear your opinion. Thanks
August 26, 2009
very interesting, thank you for this post.
August 26, 2009
its cool to see how the companies changes their logos :) the worst makeover now is for pepsi..
i read it the design guy gives a 20 page description to board on why this crap logo is the next big thing..
August 26, 2009
omg :) thanks for info
August 26, 2009
Great and nostalgic ideas
August 25, 2009
It’s great when you see a company’s logo over time, and how they often go back to earlier versions of the logo, develop it and bring it into the current times (starbucks for example), and Fiat is a really example too.
(also not to nitpick, but firefox updated its logo again with 3.5!)
August 25, 2009
It’s so interesting to see where the major brands come from. Even the super powers start out somewhere. Usually, that somewhere is not designed very well.
Some of the improvements are drastic! Great post. Thanks.
August 25, 2009
Glad you liked it ! keep up
September 2, 2009
watch pirates of silicon valley its a tv film about the strat of apple and microsft – very eye opening microsfrt used to own 30% of apple
apple took the idea of the mouse from xerox and mcsft took it from apple all very interesting
August 25, 2009
I recall also seeing a similar timeline for the General Electric logo. Back in the late 80’s they spent millions for a new identity design, but gave it up before it went public to stick with a VERY minor revision of the tried-and-true G.E. circle.
I noticed the new Kraft logo lately, too, that has quite a history.
August 25, 2009
I love posts like this that shows the evolution of brands. I actually did a post on my blog of the evolution of my own brand.
I laughed at how dated Microsoft’s first logo was…classic 1970’s. Reminds me of the graphics used in on of my favorites shows when I was a kid “The Electric Company”.
August 25, 2009
omg :D microsoft logo killed me too :D
August 25, 2009
i think Shell Has Gone a long way,
and Nokia’s Old Logo Is Quite Different from What they are Now,
August 25, 2009
Awesome article! Great so see how logos have developed over time.
August 25, 2009
ahha :D thanks. keep up!
August 25, 2009
The Firefox logo was ever so slightly updated with version 3.5. There are more advanced gradients and some 3D effects going on in the new version.
August 25, 2009
yeah, exactly.. :D thank you for comment!
August 25, 2009
Pretty interesting… some look nothing like the first generation logo
August 25, 2009
beautiful and comprehebsive list.
However, you cant generalize Google logos after 1998 which frequently change for some special occasions. :)
August 25, 2009
You missed the Adobe logo that had Adobe written with a font like Adobe Garamond Pro..
August 25, 2009
oh, thank you for sharing :D
August 25, 2009
Oh wow, Kodak and Nokia went a long way… Interesting to see how much styles have changed over the years
August 25, 2009
yeah :D