Logo Stories From Apple, Microsoft, Nokia, Xerox, IBM, Canon, Motorola

2023 Author: Gordon Kinson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-06-01 01:17

The marketing paths are inscrutable - in 1975 Nike's famous "swoosh" cost $ 30 and still flaunts on its products. And Pepsi arranges for the logo to be renewed every ten years and in 2008 paid the Arnell Group $ 1 million to work on the new logo. Their own amusing legends are associated with the brand names of the leading players in the world of digital gadgets.

Apple

Ronald Wayne, the co-founder of the company, thought a little differently from Jobs or Wozniak and therefore did not stay in it for long. His contribution to the development of Apple turned out to be more than useless and two weeks after the registration of the trademark, Wayne's 10% stake in the authorized capital was bought by two Steves for only $ 800. But the third founder managed to develop a logo - an engraving with a stylized Newton, over whose head an ominous apple hangs. The text that framed the picture read: "An idea travels through strange seas of thought … Alone." The logo was never used.

Microsoft

The old logo of the Redmond company is believed to reflect the philosophy of the 70s - the tumultuous era of disco. In those days, electronics was a single industry, people who built computers and programmed them, but Bill Gates figured out how to do it differently and make money on it. In a way, he created a mini-revolution, laying the foundation for the largest software market today. Therefore, it is no coincidence that the stylized spinning vinyl discs originally had two words separated by a dash - Micro (microcomputer) and Soft (software).

IBM

The age-old corporation, originally from the 19th century in the Roaring 30s, has undergone a dramatic change, restructuring and targeting new markets. The plans were ambitious, the ideas of globalization were in the air, the word “international” indicated the scale of the company's interests - it was no coincidence that the invented logo was stylized like a globe. Well, “Business Machines” should have been taken as an explanation of what exactly this business structure does.

Canon

Goro Yoshida, the inventor of the first prototype of the camera, was a suave Buddhist and considered the goddess of mercy Kwanon as his unofficial patroness. So the camera was named, drawing a frivolous, but religiously correct logo depicting a mythical woman with many arms. In the militaristic Japan of the pre-war era, neither the drawing nor the name gave a competitive advantage, and therefore a simple solution was found. "Canon" is an international word, the meaning is the same as the Russian "canon" (dogma, basis, rules). Yoshida created an exemplary camera, a standard of quality, and such a renaming turned out to be very useful, but the goddess was really merciful and the brand was not punished.

Motorola

This is the story of how one successful product completely changed the fate of a company long before Apple took off. In Chicago in the 30s. last century, the slang "ola" meant audio gadgets in general, and when the Galvin Manufacturing Corporation designed a new radio for the car, without further ado, they called it Motor + Ola. Motorola's were wildly popular, and management had access to investment and a clear vision for the future of the brand. General Director Paul Galvin decided that it would be more expedient to implement them under a new, "lucky" name - and this was more than fair for decades.

Nokia

The Finnish company is almost 200 years old - it was time to master different types of industries and rebrand, and more than once. The original chimeric river miracle Yudo and the word "nokia" itself are considered to be references to the river Nokianvirta, on the banks of which the first factory workshop was built. At the beginning of the 20th century, several different companies merged into the Nokia Group, the production of rubber products was chosen as the leading specialization - the logo became laconic and curved. Much like the famous galoshes or rubber-braided cables, both products were iconic for Nokia until the management turned its attention to the world of communications. Having invested in communication systems, the company also changed the logo, adding the well-known, very accurate and capacious phrase "connecting people".

Xerox

One of the most stable IT companies has the most boring logo update history - everything is strictly according to the line, in accordance with the change of eras and priorities. Chester Carlson came to Haloid Company with his unique Zirox copier, which allowed the company to get rich instantly - it was renamed Xerox Corp. The era of digital technologies has come and the sign was changed to a “computer” one built of large X pixels. In the new century, copiers in the brand's assortment began to occupy a small niche, now the main specialization is information management tools. And the red ball, surrounded by criss-cross stripes, is designed to indicate the global nature of Xerox development - it appeared in 2008.