Technology has taken a massive upward direction form the past 2 decades and this is not something that is uncommon as everyone knows this and can attest to this and technology has changed everyone’s life. With the evolvement in the technology, so comes the evolvement in the businesses and this change can be witnessed in the logos of such companies as well.
Microsoft
BASIC first came in formation in the year 1975 and it was created by Bill Gates and Paul Allen and was considered the very first language for a PC.
Microsoft became a household name very quickly and now is recognized around the world and it was also being recognized around the world very rapidly back then as well, as the company was recognized so was it’s logo recognized around the world and it became the brand as we know today and there has been little change in it’s logo since the last 25 years because of how much recognizable it has been since that time. The only addition that holds value is the addition of the tagline which was given in 1994. The tagline has been switched up numerous of times over the years in the history of the company and the latest came in the year 2008.
Apple
The ultra successful company as we know and use the products today, Apple was founded in 1976 by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne. The very first logo that the company put out to the public depicted the infamous event of the apple falling on Newton which proved the famous theory of gravity from Newton but it was quickly realized that it may be too complicated.
The logo then created was a rainbow apple design which ended up in the company for almost 20 years but they added an apparent bite mark which people mistook for a tomato. The rainbow represented the distinct selling point of the company’s colored graphics. Apple changed it’s logo on 1998 and then switched to the current version recognized today with as a silver gradient. The apple logo is all about the shape no matter which color is put in, it is instantly recognized around the world.
IBM
IBM begun it’s operations in the year 1988 as ITR, The International Time Recording Company which sold mechanical time recorded. ITR then was merged with CTR and the both set of logos were embedded in IBM in the year 1911.
In the year 1842, the name of the company was changed to IBM which stood for the International Business Machines Corporation and the logo for the company thus was changed. In modern times the logo of IBM has taken a drastic shift from it’s original one and has left the rococo swirls for a more simpler font. The shape which was spherical joined with the word “International” depicts the company’s interests.
In the year 1947, the logo of IBM was again changed because it moved away from punch card machines to computers this the globe was dropped and the name of the company was cut down to only initials. The font was again changed slightly in 1956 and has remained the same ever since.
Windows
Microsoft Windows is a graphical operating system for PCs first introduced in 1985. The initial logo included a blue “window” icon and the product name in a simple serif font. The multi-coloured wavy version was introduced in 1993. The undulating shape with the railing pixels gives the logo a sense of motion, with the window becoming a flag.
The flag motif remained in use until 2001 when, with the release of XP, a major redesign was introduced. The black frame and trailing pixels were excised, while the coloured panes were given a more three-dimensional look. This design was altered only slightly for Vista and 7, released in 2007 and 2009 respectively, with the font changing to Calibri.
With the heralding of Windows 8, set for release later in 2012, the logo has gone back to the beginning, echoing the Eighties design yet also bringing it up to date. Could this be a risky move when the multi-coloured flag has been so etched in consumer’s minds? Only time will tell.
Nintendo
Nintendo begun it’s operations as a playing card company in the year 1889 and then started to shift in different areas of businesses in the year 1963. It finally entered the video game industry in the year 1974 and developed their first gaming consoles, the NES.
As time went by, the name Nintendo has become a smaller part of the company’s logos and was finally dropped with the introduction of Wii on 2011. The colors were vibrant at the start and then were adapted in the consoles, which have all been discarded.
Internet Explorer
The most popular web browser was introduced in the year 1995 with the logo of the browser using the famous Windows flag icon. The first two version included the flag icon, although the third icon famously knows as the “e” icon has stood still to this day. The “e” in the icon of the Internet explorer represents the globe, while the orbiting circle depicts the speed and exploration of the browser. The font that was chose was the Helvetica font for the balance and solidness while the color was chosen as the blue one for reliability.
What does this all means regarding your business?
The top most recognizable companies from across the world constantly tweak their logos from time to time as discussed above. It is important as you would want your business to change with the times and adapt to the modern look as customers tend to stick to the companies that re-invent themselves over the course of time. You should keep your logo’s up to date as you do with your services and products to keep the customer base as the loyal customer stick to the companies that do not get stuck in the old times but keep on developing themselves.