I had the great fortune to have an in-depth conversation with Rob Janoff, the designer of the original, and now iconic, Apple logo. Getting ready for his upcoming talk with Fiverr (more on that below), we talked about working with Steve Jobs, what exactly was intended (and not intended) with the Apple logo design, advice for CMOs in working with logo designers, and he even went through his favorite logos that he didn’t design.
At the time he designed the Apple logo it was 1977 and Rob worked for agency, Regis McKenna, who handled the Apple “start-up” (funny to think of Apple ever being a start-up) and an agency ultimately acquired by Chiat Day.
Will Burns: Did Steve Jobs brief you in any formal way prior to developing the Apple logo?
Rob Janoff: No, not at all. It was all so airy fairy at the time. Neither Steve nor I were all that sophisticated. Steve certainly hadn’t yet become that scary, demanding guy we think of today. He wasn’t rich and famous yet. His only direction was “Don’t make it cute.” Which to me meant don’t make the name that you put on my computer in some kind of cute computer type. Regis [Rob's boss] said, “Don’t do a bug.” He said to just do a type treatment with the name.
But I knew intuitively that I had such a great dichotomy to work with. I had a computer machine thing and a natural piece of fruit. I told Regis that if we don’t somehow use the fruit, the apple, we’d lose a whole lot of the fun-ness of the idea. In fact, this logo we all know today would never have happened if I listened to everybody. So if they had given me a brief, it would have given me all the wrong stuff. I just wanted to make the computer easy and fun to be around.
Burns: For years there have been rumors about what the bite out of the apple signifies. Can you resolve that once and for all?
Janoff: Yes, funny story. The apple shape itself didn’t have anything to do with computers. It’s to get people to notice that an Apple computer was not some piece of hard-edged metal that has no place in your home and that your kid wouldn’t want to be near. Lots of different fruits have a stem, are sort of round with a leaf dangling off of it. So the bite in the apple was initially meant to indicate that it was an apple, and not something else. Also metaphorically the bite indicated biting into all the knowledge users would get out of this computer.
What’s funny, though, is after I came up with it my creative director, Chip, said “Oh guess what, Rob. You just designed something you didn’t realize. The word ‘byte’ is a computer word. And you took a bite out of Apple.” I wasn’t computer literate enough to see that initially. And I was like, there’s a bit of wit that will last! Any logo that makes a joke or engages you in that way you’re going to remember. And the rainbow colors had to do with the USP of this product. The Apple computer was the only one that could show images in color.
Burns: Did you present multiple logo concepts to Steve?
Janoff: I would never do now with a client what I did with Steve. It was really low-key then. He was just starting, and so was I. I showed the logo to him and he was like, “Okay, that’s nice.” And that was it. I was the only one at the agency who was a freak like he was. So there was a certain level of trust. It’s the only time in my entire career where I presented only one solution. But it was just so right.
Burns: What advice would you give people in marketing today when it comes to great logo design?
Janoff: Important to keep it simple. People can’t remember complicated things. They can remember simple things. That’s also what makes the logo stand out. Most want the sun and the moon in there or get off on literalness. I usually have to show those clients how ugly that is versus a clear message that is singular and memorable. You also need to strive for a wink in the logo. You remember a joke or something that made you laugh. Any time you can add any kind of humor it becomes more likable and memorable. If you’re so afraid to give a wink, then you’re going to be pretty much beige like everything else. Especially in the age of the Internet.
Speaking of which, as it relates to logos, ask yourself this question. Is the logo interactive when it’s not on an interactive device? It gets back to the wink, something we leave for the consumer to get. That will cement the relationship between your company and its audience.
Burns: Are there any logos out there that you wish you did?
Janoff: Yes. The FedEx logo is brilliant. They went into a market dominated by UPS with their brown trucks and tasteful little gold logo.
So FedEx did a white truck with a huge logo. FedEx did everything the opposite of UPS. And symbolically the logo tells you exactly what FedEx does with that secret arrow between the “E” and the “X” using negative space. That’s the interactive wit I’m talking about.
I also really like Milton Glaser’s “I ❤️ New York” treatment. You know, it was the first use of an emoji, though nobody called it that back then. But New Yorkers really love New York. I understand Glaser came up with that in the back of a cab.
Another I like a lot goes back to the 1950s as a kid, I was glued to the TV, always being told I was sitting too close to it. But the CBS logo. It was an eye. A clear, crisp image of something I could understand. But it represented something, too. Here I was watching TV and here’s an eye watching me. Isn’t that cool?
Burns: You are doing a master class with online freelance-service company, Fiverr, this week. Tell us about that relationship.
Janoff: I’ve been doing mostly higher-budget things for bigger companies, but a lot of times not. And I made my name designing the logo for a then-start-up, Apple. So one of the cool things about Fiverr is that it’s a tiered price structure. A start up could use me if they really wanted to at a really pared down level. I have a whole team of guys I work with. It’s a way of democratizing more, giving back a bit, and all that stuff. Fiverr is great for freelancers who don’t have the business infrastructure in place. So I’m giving a talk on March 28th in New York City on logo design, design theory and some other stuff.
Burns: Thank you so much, Rob. A thrill to talk to you about something so important in our culture and our business.
Janoff: You’re very welcome.
P.S. Rob is also offering 3 small businesses the chance to have their logo designed by him, for only $500. Businesses can apply this week and Rob gets to choose the ones he wants to work with. If interested in applying, click here.
