You must admit that in the world of brands there are very few logos that everyone recognizes, recognizes through colorful advertising on television or colorful advertising posters hanging on the streets of the city.
How did the history of the "logo" begin
A logo is a historically proven way to profitably present your corporate identity to a consumer. We are used to perceiving any brand through a series of associations, which are mainly associated with well-known slogans, advertising and a recognizable sign.
At the sight of such branding as Coca-Cola, three Adidas stripes, four Audi rings or two Toyota ovals, one immediately recalls the commercials that we see every day on television. In this list of well-known brands, the Apple logo has rightfully got its place. We learn how these personalized images were created.
Apple Apple
Probably, many are interested to know what the history of the logo is. The Apple logo was first created by Ronald Wayne. Unfortunately, this name does not tell us much, but Wayne is the third founder of Apple, as well as the great loser of the 20th century. Why is a loser? Yes, because Ronald 11 days after official registration sold his 10 percent stake in the company for only $ 800. If Wayne had shown a little patience and a bit of intuition, he would probably have entered the Forbes list of the richest and most famous people on the planet today with a fortune of $ 30 billion. However, Ronald simply did not believe that Apple was waiting for such success.
Nevertheless, as the story of the Apple logo narrates, today's version has little in common with what was originally created. More precisely, almost nothing but an apple. But it was a whole work of art! Wayne's painting depicted the brilliant scientist Isaac Newton, on which an apple was about to fall. This picture was truly magnificent, but not suitable for the realities of modern business, so the idea of Ronald Wayne lasted only a year.
Then Steve Jobs (chairman of the board of directors of Apple Corporation) turned to graphic designer Rob Janov. Jobs needed a simple, modern-looking, well-recognized corporate image that would have a direct connection with the company's activities. Rob completed the task in about a week.
In an interview, Yanov talked about how he succeeded. Rob bought apples and began to draw them, gradually getting rid of unnecessary details. He made the famous “bite” on purpose: it was necessary to depict the company symbol so that it was firmly associated precisely with apples, and not generally with fruits, vegetables or berries. Rob Yanov intentionally made the logo color.
This should reflect the fact that the company produces computers with color monitors, the display of which at that time could display six colors that were present on the logo. Yanov placed the colors in random order. In this form, as the history of the Apple logo testifies, the brand image lasted another 22 years.
However, in 1998, Jonathan Ive, a designer who collaborated with Apple, came up with a new case for the iMac G3. It became clear that a color logo on a colored poppy would look ridiculous. That is why, according to the history of the logo, the company logo from 1998 to this day looks like a laconic, monochrome symbol in the form of a bitten apple in black.
Winged emblem for Skoda
Who would have thought that the history of the Skoda logo began at the end of the 19th century, and most importantly, that it all started with bicycles and motorcycles! It would seem that with the manufacture of two-wheeled vehicles it would be rather difficult to switch to something more serious.
However, if you think carefully, then in the 18th century no one suspected such an interesting technique as a car. But still it happened! All the bikes and motorcycles of Slavia, which lasted about 10 years, were made in a workshop in the city of Mlada Boleslav. As the history of the Skoda logo tells, the initial sketch of the emblem was a wheel whose circumference was framed by linden leaves, which were meant to symbolize the Slavic peoples, and literally a year later the names of the founders of the company were added here.
Thus, the mechanic Vaclav Laurin and the seller of books Vaclav Klement laid the foundation for that magnificent company that we know now.
Colorful symbol for a car
Needless to say, at the beginning of the 20th century the company changed its name, and even turned off the production of motorcycles and switched to cars? The company was named after its founders Laurin and Clement (L&K). The design of the corporate cliche was due to the influence of modernity of the early 20th century. And only in 1926 the company began to bear a new name - ŠKODA. At that time, cars were produced at a factory in the city of Mlada Boleslav. Despite the change in the brand, the shape of the new logo reflected the connection with the previous version, but still slightly modified. The logo with the familiar winged arrow was first used in 1926. The commercial director of the company T. Maglich created a round blue and white field with a winged arrow that flew to the right. So, this version of symbolism lasted as long as 64 years. And only in 1999 he suffered a change. The black and green logo gave the ŠKODA brand more originality. It exists to this day.
BMW with a propeller
Very often, when it comes to cleanliness and blue-blue sky, it is not always the case with detergents and the like. Specifically, now we are talking about cars of the brand BMW. The history of the BMW logo began back in 1916 in Munich. It was then that two large companies merged into one, so that in the future people could safely sit behind the wheel of a comfortable foreign car.
The time has come to come up with a logo for the company, which at that time was producing aircraft engines. Starting the development of the brand name with a rotating propeller, the company representatives decided that it was all too simple - and two colors appeared on the emblem that BMW still represent today - steel and the blue of the sky. But the picture was so bright and hurt so much that it was decided that symbols should be added to the sign, namely, to connect the logo with the flag of Bavaria.
From that moment on, on the emblem of BMWs already beloved by everyone, one could see a propeller, which now remains only in history, and colors that will always remind of the origin of the company.
Three elements from the Mercedes
Today, Mercedes is not only a car brand, it is also a long-standing reputation of the brand, which is associated with luxury and respectability. But we are interested in the history of the Mercedes logo, which has survived to this day.
So, far 1902, the emergence of such a huge corporation as Mercedes. As you know, it was created by three parties, and the creators - the famous Wilhelm Maybach, Gottlieb Daimler and Emil Ellinek - constantly argued which emblem should represent their creations. Not one option inspired them confidence. Carrots, oranges, and even elephants were offered. The dispute and almost a quarrel between old friends and partners were resolved by the daughter of Ellinek, who loved cars very much. Moreover, it was in her honor that the now famous Mercedes was named.
Young Mercedes suggested not to argue and cross the canes, that is, to make peace among themselves. In speed, the creators came up with the slogan that exists today: the best quality in three dimensions - in water, in air and on land. The Mercedes logo can be deciphered in the same way - the fusion of three areas - as a true quality mark.
The history of the Audi logo
Audi's four rings, like other images of famous brands, are enveloped in an impressive and interesting logo story. This logo bears the name of the founder of the automobile company August Horch. The fact is that translated from German Horh means “listen”, while translated into Latin it sounds like audi. Previously, the founder of the company gave his offspring his own name "Horch". But over time, he had to leave the company and create a new automobile concern. And the Horch brand was already taken. I had to come up with a new name for the product. In 1928, during the period of the economic crisis, the group included four automobile companies: DKW and Wanderer, Horch and Audi. This association of four car factories was called Auto Union. That is, partners and competitors have united. And now the company's modern cars are decorated with four rings.
Way from "Toyota" to "Toyota"
The Toyota company was founded by Japanese businessman Kiichiro Toyoda. At the launch of his first factory, he announced a competition for the best company logo. The bid, which consisted of Katakana letters in design, won.
These letters conveyed a sense of speed. The word "Toyota" was renamed to "Toyota", so it looked better in terms of design. Since then, the name has not changed.
Story Toyota logo begins in October 1989. The emblem has not changed since then. It consists of three ovals. Two ovals, perpendicular, mean the tightness of communication between customers and the company. The interweaving of these ovals draws the letter "T" - the first letter in the name of the company. The background of the logo symbolizes the global advantage of Toyota technology in the global automotive market. And in 2004 the logo became voluminous. This has become a testament to the excellent quality of the cars produced.
Three Adidas Strips
Adidas is one of the most famous manufacturers of sportswear and shoes. The company was founded in 1920 and got its name from the creator of Adolf (Adi) Dassler, where did Adidas come from. As the history of the Adidas logo testifies, the first version of the company logo was invented by Adolf Dassler himself , these were three stripes that became recognizable on sports shoes.
In the 1960s, the company began to expand and expanded its range of sportswear, so the creator began to look for new recognizable Adidas characters. A shamrock was invented, symbolizing the triple variety of Adidas products. Now the trefoil with three stripes can be recognized even without an inscription, the name of the company, the brand has become recognizable throughout the world. At the end of the 90s of the XX century, the heads of the company decided to expand their corporate identity. The new logo depicted a lattice symbolizing a mountain of tasks, as well as goals to be pursued. In the early 2000s, another version of the symbolism was created, which is a globe with the same three stripes. Currently, Adidas uses all three options, but the last two have become the most common.
From Nike to Victory
There is no person who is at least a little interested in sports who nowadays does not know Nike. This company has established itself in the market, and everyone knows today its corporate logo depicting movement, takeoff, achievement of goals.
According to the rules of American grammar, the name of the company should be read as “Nike”, and not “Nike”, as they are used to in Russia. The company is named after the goddess of victory, Nicky. The history of the logo itself deserves special attention.
"Nike" was "on the rise"
The founder of the company Wil Knight ordered the Nike logo not to famous designers, but to a simple student, but he was constantly dissatisfied with her options for drawing. The wing of the goddess was taken as a basis, a careless stroke, which in the original version emphasized the name of the company, therefore it was rejected. The inscription was moved up until it was completely removed. Over time, they began to recognize Nike by the company logo, and it became superfluous to indicate the name.