Design | Art | Tech | Business

Issue 1

Case Study: Apple

behind the mark
History of Apple Logos | Types of Logos | uses of Logos

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 Issue 1: December 2020

Editor L Mukukura
Marketing L Banda
Design and Layout LKM INK

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@lkm_ink

P erspective Elements is an online

magazine that focuses on Art & De- Subscriptions and Submissions
sign, business and technology. Contact:
L Mukukura +263 772 681 288
The magazine’s primary purpose is to L Banda +263 774 570 856
address the problems in Zimbabwe’s
design industry, by giving the general
public an understanding of what design
entails. It provides a platform for sea-
soned and upcoming creatives to inter-
act, while informing non-creatives on
what works and what doesn’t, when it
comes to design and art. The magazine
will strive to be a source of inspiration
by taking an educative and informative
approach to design.

Perspective Elements will also bring

key stakeholders in business and tech-
nology together and connect them to
clients by facilitating the exchange of
ideas, news, trends and solutions.

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 “A logo is like a first impression, one
that will affect client perceptions, buying
patterns and overall attitudes toward a
product.”

As you read about the history of the

Apple logo, look at what they started
with and how that changed to what we
know today. Think about the reasons
behind all the changes they did up-to

T his is the first issue of Perspective today, from the type face choices to co-
Elements, and in it we dive into the lour options. Also consider how trends,
confusing world of logos. We will con- influenced these choices.
sider what logos are, the types of logos,
their uses. In this issues art review we will take a
look at Psychedelic Art, an art move-
Designing a logo is not as simple as ment that originated in the 1960s. We
most assume. Contrary to popular be- will consider its aesthetics, characteris-
lief, it is not about using a “fancy” font tics and how it has impacted contempo-
and icons with “cool” effects. There is rary art and design.
more to branding and creating identity
than just placing a word in a shape with As this is the first issue, we will get you
a drop shadow and gradient and calling acquainted with the tools of the trade.
it a day. It is better to keep things simple In the first part of a four part series
and focus more on what the logo stands
for.

L K Mukukura
Editor

Next Issue!
Brand Archetypes: Which kind of Brand are you?
How Typography can make or break your Brand
Case Study: The Coca Cola Type
Top 10 Typefaces in use
Review: Synthwave Art

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 Contents
Logos
What are they 5
Quiz: Know Your
Facts! 14
Types of Logos Test yourself on how
Their Uses much you know about
art and design.
How To
What to think about 8 Art Review
A look into Psychedelic 15
when designing a logo.
Art. An art movement
popular in the 1960 with
nineteenth century roots.

Cover Story
Apple: Behind the Mark 11
Looking at the origins of
the Apple logo and how
Tools of the Trade 1
The first part in a four 18
part series that dives into
it has changed over the
the software & gadgets
years.
necessary in the field.

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LOGOS!
What Are
They?
A logo is more than a cool icon and
complex font, but one that represents
something. It is a symbol, icon, mark,
word, emblem, or whatever you want
to call it, that helps consumers to iden-
tify an entity or organisation. This can “A great logo tells a story about
span from a brand, a campaign, a place a brand: name, mission, values,
or even a person, in addition to brands, goals and your principles.”
companies and other organizations.
Hence a logo is said to be the face of whatever it represents because it symboliz-
es the values and promises that the entity puts forward. It should be the first thing
that a client sees.

For that reason a logo is used on stationary, advertising material, corporate-ware

and signs as an emblem by which the organization can easily be recognized. It is
on this note that most people make a mistake. Logos represent the identity of an
organization, product, brand, or idea.

How Similar is a Logo to a face? business in a way that is recognizable

and memorable.” So a logo creates an
“Think of logos like people. People are image for your brand, and the more
called by their names instead of a vague people see your logo, they can start
generic description. A Logo should to associate it with your brand. Sud-
not literally describe what the business denly, the more you get to know “the
does, for example “the company that company that sells sneakers” it be-
sells sneakers”, where there is a myri- comes “Nike”. Now you associate the
ad of them. It should rather identify the “swoosh” logo with Nike.

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Types of
Logos
1 Pictorial marks
zed illus-
A simplified or stylized
tration of an actual image. A pictorial
izable im-
mark uses a literal and recognizable
age that to the name of the company
mpany or
its mission, or brand attribute. A good example is that of apple.

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Abstract/Symbolic marks
A symbol that tells the brand story, a big idea, or an important attribute
and may seem vague to someone who does not know the story. Perfect compa-
nies with many unrelated divisions or when companies merge. They are perfect
for service-based and technology companies. On that note we take a look at Ap-
ple, again.

3 Wordmarks
An acronym or name,
that has been designed to con-
vey a brand attribute or a sum-
mary of the positioning state-
ment.

4 Letterforms
A unique design using one or more letters. The
letter is used as a brand mark.The letter is always unique
and full of personality and meaning. An example is:, the
“E” for Microsoft Internet Explorer.

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 5 Emblems
The name is connected to a pic-
torial element inside a shape. The elements
are never isolated. They are good on pack-
ages and large embroideries, but present a
legibility challenge when a tiny logo is need-
ed. Especially in this age digital media where
the size of logos is ever decreasing to fit on
small screens.

Uses of Logos
Identification | Differentiation | Aiding Recall

As already alluded to, a logo is what take to eventual selection and brand
identifies a company. It works more or preference.
less as a face. A logo exists to repre-
sent and identify a company or prod- It doesn’t necessarily have to describe
uct. The brand name tells us what it what a business does, but it should help
is called. The mark helps us recognize consumers to remember your brand.
the brand the next time we see it. Lo- Logos do not drive sales, but help to
gos should provide important informa- build brand loyalty because clients re-
tion about a business to allow custom- call their emotions, their experiences
ers to relate with the company’s core and thoughts when they first encoun-
brand by conveying a story behind it. tered your brand.

An effective logo separates a firm from The logo’s mark, if any, provides a shortcut
the rest and contribute to the distinc- that helps us identify a company or prod-
tiveness of a firm’s brand image. A logo uct in a hurry. We are all in a rush these
design can convey aspects of a com- days, and a well-conceived mark makes
pany’s personality (for example, fun, recognition easier.
warmth, or energy) and create percep-
tions over time. Perceptions help to fuel NB: Besides being memorable and time-
sales and growth. A distinctive logo is a less, logos should be simple and versatile
memorable logo. Being noticed and re- because times change.
membered is the first step a firm must

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How to: Design A Logo

2 Study the brand

Do make the logo connect

1 Make it unique and witty with certain people in a market by writ-

Do make the logo different ing down, on a mood board using imag-
from those of competitors, because im- es relevant to the brand, what the cus-
itation is not the best form of flattery. tomer cares about and what the brand
The goal should always be to create aspires to be?
something original. Do not use images or icons just be-
Do not be tempted to use generic im- cause they are interesting or because
agery from the Internet.The temptation you think they represent the brand bet-
is to take a random clipart, putting it in- ter. Its not about what you think, but
side a shape and adding effects. what the customer thinks.

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 Black White
Credible, Powerful Simple, Clean
Sophisticated, Elegant, Pure, Calm, Peace
Authority

Red Orange
Energetic, Excitement Friendly,Youthful, Sociable
Sexy, Bold, Passion, Intense &RQÀGHQFH-R\(QWKXVLDVWLF
Dynamic, Action, Aggressive Adventure, Community,

Pink Yellow
Feminine, Flirty Sunny, Inventive, Optimism
Gentle, Caring, Fun Warmth, Caution, Optimistic
Playful
Green Brown
Growth, Organic, New Rural, Earthly
Fresh, Life, Environment Historical, Steady,
Peaceful, Ethical, Nature

Blue Purple
Professional, Medical Spiritual, Wise, Evocative
ranquility, Integrity Creative, Imaginative, Royalty
Trustworthy, Strength,
Security, Dependable,

3 Colour is Confusing
Do use colour palettes and
schemes from the colour wheel. Our
plications and applications in different
markets. You risk conveying the wrong
message by using the wrong colour. Col-
minds are programmed to respond ors are a form of non-verbal commu-
to color; they shape our thoughts and nication, but can speak a loud message.
emotions. Color can instantly set a mood, convey
Do not use colours because they are an emotion, invoke a reaction or inspire
your favourite. Colours have certain im- someone to take action
Colour can trigger an emotion and Of the top 100 brands of the world, 95%
evoke brand association. Colours need use only one or two colors in their logos. A
to be carefully chosen, to build brand simple color choice can invoke as much as
awareness and express differentiation. 80% increase in brand recognition which
directly links to consumer confidence.

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 4 What’s in a name?
Do invest in an appropriate
name. The naming process is an integral
part of creating a brand identity, because
a wrong name poses a lot of challenges
both in marketing and legal issues.
Do not use long and complex names,
or those that are generic. Whether your
brand can use a wordmark or symbol
depends on the kind of name the brand
has. If your company has a unique name,
then you can get away with a logotype.
Generic names require a logomark to
complement the logotype.
Easy does it Do not complicate a logotype with
5 Do strike a balanced and keep
it interesting. A good example is FedEx’s
fonts that are illegible, unless you are
prepared to fork out a lot of money
logo which uses a simple Logotype. It for advertising to accustom the market
effectively uses negative space to create with the your name.
an arrow between E and X, to symbol-
izes speed and direction. The company
then changes the color of the Ex in or-
der to classify the type of shipping. Am-
azon, too, uses just its name, but also
refers to its wide inventory with a small
arrow pointing from a to z.

6 Consider the medium

Do make a logo that goes be-
yond the traditional paper. We are in a
work for apps, icons, avatars and print,
and it must be flexible in size. It should
look well in both black and white and in
digital age, where logos now appear on colour.
multiple device of different screen siz- Do not forget that designs with a lot
es and across social media. A logo must of detail and effects become less legible
look great on different backgrounds, when reduced to small sizes.

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 r s t o r y
Cove
Apple: Behind
The Mark
The Apple logo is one of the simplest
logos out there. It can be said to be the
most recognizable logos, That is why it
is iconic, It is one simple logo with a lot
of meaning and history behind it.

There have been many theories about

the Apple logo. One being that it is
homage to Alan Turing, who is regarded
as the father of modern computers.Tur-
ing took a bite out of an apple he had
poisoned with cyanide. Some link it to
the Garden of Eden, where Eve took a
bite out of the forbidden fruit.

Apple has used different typefaces over

the years:
• Apple Garamond (1984)
• Gill Sans (1997)
• Avenir (2001)
• Helvetica
• San Francisco (2015)

The monochromatic scheme signifies effortless communication and aesthetics.

The rules of the Fibonacci Sequence or Golden Ratio have been applied to the
logo. This fact has been used to explain why the brand has endured the test of
time in an ever-changing tech industry.

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 1976
The first logo was not even similar to the one we know
today. It was created by Ronald Wayne when the compa-
ny was first started. The logo, more of an image, of Isaac
Newton under an apple tree. Depicting how he made his
discoveries on gravity when the apple fell on his head.
However, this did not last, as Steve Jobs thought that it
was archaic.

1977
In 1977 Rob Janoff was hired to redesign the logo.The
classic logo we know today. Although the logo had a
rainbow spectrum, a tribute to the fact that the Apple
II was the world’s first computer with colour display.
In a 2009 interview, Janoff emphasized that the bite on
the apple is for scale. He explained that when scaled
down, the Apple logo should not look like a cherry.
The bite is also a play on words for byte, the comput-
er’s measure for storage capacity.

1997
The Colourful logo was done away with and
it was replaced with a modern monochromatic
look. The general shape has remained the same
over the years, while the colours have varied
here and there. In 2013 the design became
two-dimension and flat to allow for consisten-
cy and unification on different platforms and
medium. From pictures, hardware and beyond.

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Imagine if the Apple logo was anything like this. Would it still be intriguing? Would
the brand feel sophisticated or exclusive? Think about it.

Steve Jobs briefing Rob Janoff on the specifics of the Apple logo.

Right! I want a logo. It

should represent what I do
and what I like. I don‛t know
how you are going to do it,
but don‛t make it cute.

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Quiz: Know You Facts!
1. Graphic design is also known by 9. Which civilization is credited for
what other name? creating the alphabet we use in En-
2. Which element of visual design glish?
involves placing two colours side by 10.What writing system did Alcuin in-
side to make an image “pop”? troduce in Charlemagne’s time?
3. Which is the most basic element in 11.What is one outstanding character-
design? istic of the Carolingian Minuscule?
4. What famous Hollywood logo 12.What writing system did the Egyp-
features the silhouette of Robert tians use?
Hunt’s son? 13.How many letters did the Phoeni-
5. Yellow, green, red, orange. Which of cian alphabet have?
these is not a warm colour? 14.The Sumerians are credited for
6. Which of the following is not a key which writing system?
step in the design process: define,
create, socialize or test? Answers on page 19
7. What is the other name for colour? 14 out of 14: Impressive
8. Who developed the braille writing 9 out of 14: Well Informed
system? 4 out of 14; Well Tried

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Perspective
Review:
Psychedelic Art
Psychedelic art and the associated sub-
culture originated in the 1960s in San
Francisco, California as a portrayal of
what people experience when they use
psychedelic drugs such as LSD. It was
heavily influenced by the Hippie move-
ment or the Flower Power Ideology.
This is the idea of universal peace and
love replacing the materialism and mil-
itarism. peak during the 1890s. Typical charac-
teristics of the art nouveau style are
This style emerged in fashion, graphic flat, decorative patterns, intertwined
art, and music by bands such as Love, organic forms such as stems or flow-
the Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, ers, emphasis on handcrafting and sinu-
and Pink Floyd. The art style makes use ous curved lines. Although right-angled
of distortions, surreal visuals and bright forms were common.
colors with high contrasts. As a result
the image melts and the typography Characteristics
usually flows with it, this was done to • Fantastic subjects
evoke, convey, or enhance the psyche- • Distortions
delic experience. A reflection of nar- • Kaleidoscopic and spiral patterns
cotic visions. • Neon and fluorescent colours
• Extreme details
It takes inspiration from the nineteenth • Groovy typography
century western art and design move- • Bright contrasts
ment called Art Nouveau (French for • Disproportionate and caricature like
“new art”). Art Nouveau reached its features

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Psychedelic Art in the 60s
Wes Wilson
Robert Wesley Wilson (July 15, 1937 – January 24, 2020) was an American artist
and one of the leading designers of psychedelic posters. Best known for design-
ing posters for Bill Graham of The Fillmore in San Francisco, he invented a style
that is now synonymous with the peace movement, the psychedelic era and the
1960s. In particular, he was known for inventing and popularizing a “psychedelic”
font around 1966 that made the letters look like they were moving or melting.
His style was heavily influenced by the Art Nouveau movement.

Victor Moscoso
Victor Moscoso (born 1936 in Oleiros, Galicia, Spain) is a Spanish artist best
known for producing psychedelic rock posters, advertisements, and underground
comix in San Francisco during the 1960s and 1970s. He was the first of the rock
poster artists of the 1960s era with formal academic training and experience. He
was the first of the rock poster artists to use photographic collage in many of
his posters.
Bonnie MacLean
Bonnie MacLean (December 28, 1939 – February 4, 2020), was an American art-
ist known for her classic rock posters. In the 1960s and 1970s she created post-
ers and other art for the promotion of rock and roll concerts managed by Bill
Graham, using the iconic psychedelic art style of the day. MacLean continued her
art as a painter focusing mostly on nudes, still lifes, and landscapes. Her work has
been placed alongside the “big five”—male Haight-Ashbury poster artists who
were seminal to the “iconography of the counterculture scene.”

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A contemporary in psychedelic art is Young and Sick, an art project based in
New York and Los Angeles by Dutch artist Nick van Hofwegen. He has created
artwork for numerous entertainers, including Maroon 5’s 2012 album Over-
exposed. The artwork grew from an initial drawing of mucus coming from the
nose. The illustration is very colourful just like the psychedelic posters of the
1960s.

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Adobe Tools of
the Trade 1
Photoshop
We will start with Photoshop because it
is the most common. If an image is ‘Pho-
toshopped’ it would have been manipu-
lated, retouched or altered in some way.
However, this description is an under-
statement because that only scratches
the surface of what is possible in Pho-
toshop.

Photoshop works well with raster (bit-

map) graphics and is capable of produc-
ing highly detailed compositions. While
originally intended to be a photo manip-
ulation program, Photoshop has been
taken up by digital painters and design
professionals.
Photoshop integrates well with the rest Photoshop can be used to:
of the Adobe Creative Cloud. The good • Design Storyboards
news is that Photoshop is easy to use. • Create a GIF
Just start with a few basic tutorials and • Edit Textures
move-on from there. Once you have a • Create Digital Paintings
good understanding of the tool bar and • Stitch Images Together
the basic functions you can take your • Rotoscope
design skills to the next level. • Create 3D designs
• Digital Collages

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Illustrator
Can be said to be the Photoshop of vector
graphics. Vector graphics are also known
as resolution-independent graphics, be-
cause they do not use pixels but are com-
posed of individual geometric shapes such
as circles and lines. Unlike raster graphics,
vectors can be changed, added or deleted
without disturbing those remaining.

Vectors have less detail but can be resized

larger infinitely without loss of quality.
Since vectors are not size dependent, a
design could be used on a small card but
then scaled to the size of a billboard with-
out a loss in quality.

Illustrator can be used to create:

• Illustrations
• Logos
• Graphics for business cards
• Infographics
• Clipart
• Icons

NB: Vectors can easily be converted to ras-

ter, but raster cannot be converted back
without difficulty.

Quiz Answers: 1.Visual Design 2.Contrast 3.Line 4.Dreamworks 5.Green

6.Socialise 7.Hue 8.Louis Braille 9.Romans 10.Carolingian Minuscule
11.Small Letters 12. Hieroglyphics 13. 22 14.Cuneiform

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After Effects
After FX as it is popularly known has been used for video compositing since the
’90s. It is used for adding visual effects to videos or animations. After Effects can
also be used to create animations of both text and complex characters. Other
things like adding clips into a clip or overlaying green-screens come with ease.
After Effects packs some of the most powerful editing tools available for video.
These features make this program hardware intensive, so be sure to have at least
8GB of ram and a ton of CPU power before trying to use it.
After Fx can be used for:
• Simulation Effects
• Character Animation
• Template Creation
• Logo Reveals
• Slideshow Design
• Title Animation
• UX/UI Design Mockups
• 3D Compositing
• Web Design Mockups
• Motion Tracking
• Explainer Videos
• Object Removal
• Kinetic Typography
• VFX

Premiere Pro
Similar to After Effects is Premiere Pro, which is used to edit and cut video tracks,
and then export them in the desired format. The project panel allows you to grab
individual clips and add them to a timeline to create a movie. Titles can be added,
elements from the rest of the Adobe suite can be added, and color corrections
can be applied.

Prelude
Prelude is a video tool for the cutting and editing footage before sending to the
production team. If you have hours of footage to go through, it will take forever
to do it in Premier. That is where Prelude comes in to save the day. Prelude can
log videos, tag, transcode, and search through footage quickly. If there’s a particular
scene or shot that you need to find, Prelude can find it almost instantly. Prelude
isn’t for editing; it is for screening clips and organizing them.

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Milton Glaser’s psychedelic
poster titled Dylan

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