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Classic Logos: Penguin (1935)
28 July 2017 
Hi MLE,
Well today I am having a look at the birth of one of the most liked logos of all time: the Penguin Books logo. I do not know of anyone who does not like it.
At the time, Albatross Books based in Hamburg was very successful. See one of their book covers above. So what did Allen Lane do to for his newly formed publishing company? He called it Penguin and has a little penguin drawn up by the 21-year old production editor and designer Edward Young.
Over the years, the little penguin has been tweaked a lot by various people. During the forties alone, it was changed nine times by Young, as you can see above. The famous typographer Jan Tschichold changed it in 1949, so at least it stopped trying to do that little waddle!
Today’s logo looks like Tschichold’s 1949 logo, which in turn looks very similar to Young’s second ever logo, designed in 1938. Well, except with improved feet.
SuzanPosted in: logos -
Classic Logos: Apple (1977)
14 July 2017 
Hello the MLE,
Ah yes, the ubiquitous Apple logo. It’s always ranking up there with the classic logos of all time, but is this is because it’s really such a great logo, or because everyone loves the Apple brand so much? I really enjoy speaking with clients years after we’ve created a logo for them, I’m always surprised to learn how much emotion is attached to it.Yes, believe it or not, that is the original Apple logo at the top of the post. Designed in 1976, it is Isaac Newton sitting under an apple tree, of course.It’s interesting that Steve Jobs went to the effort and expense of engaging an ad agency, just one year later to create a more businesslike logo. Evidently the brief was just, “don’t make it cute.”A bite was taken from the apple so that it didn’t look like a cherry. The coloured stripes were a reminder that the Apple II had a colour monitor. This logo was used from 1977 to 1998. After that all Apple design was done in-house and the colours were removed so that the logo could appear very large and not be too obtrusive.
SuzanPosted in: identities