An interview with Rob Janoff, designer of the Apple logo
Earlier today, someone pointed me at the Daily Mail’s article How Britain drove its greatest genius Alan Turing to suicide… just for being gay, which includes the following quote:
[...] just two weeks before his 42nd birthday, the softly-spoken genius killed himself by taking a bite out of an apple that he had dipped in cyanide.
Some believe his bizarre death is commemorated to this day in the logo used by Apple on its electronic goods—so significant was his contribution to the genesis of the computer.
Over the years, this and many other myths have sprung up about Apple’s logo, but by writers who presumably can’t be bothered to ask its designer, Rob Janoff, what his thinking was behind the iconic design. As it turns out, aesthetics were Janoff’s only real concern, as I discovered when interviewing him for MacFormat a couple of years ago.
Below is the full transcript of the interview (lacking the brutal edit that was required for print), which explains how one of the world’s most famous logos came to be, and also delves a little more into Janoff’s (then) use of the Mac.
What do you use Macs for, and how do they help you work?
I use Macs for graphic design projects, internet communications, presentations and the daily business of life… from calendars to cooking! What’s very weird is that back in 1977, when I was introduced to the concept of a ‘home’ or personal computer, I thought it was kind of b.s. that anyone would actually do the applications we were promoting in the advertising and literature. But that was the Apple II and this is a Mac. You really had to be into computing to do your household finances or keep track of recipes on an Apple II. The Mac is so much more intuitive. It’s like apples and oranges—pardon the pun! Now I can’t imagine my life without my Mac. This hit me yesterday as I was cooking dinner, leaning over the counter, reading a recipe on the screen.
What software and hardware do you favour and why?
I just completely use a laptop now. Portability is the thing for me. I split my week between country and city, so if I have design work or life work I carry it with me. The software I use is not all that exotic: InDesign, Photoshop, Illustrator, Office.
What’s your approach to design?
I guess the most important thing a good design has to do is communicate. I don’t think people should have to work very hard to get what you are trying to say visually. How simple can you make it?
Do you have any golden rules?
“When in doubt, leave it out!”
How did you approach designing the Apple logo?
It was very simple really. I just bought a bunch of apples, put them in a bowl, and drew them for a week or so to simplify the shape.
What was the thinking behind the colour order of the stripes, and the ‘bite’?
There wasn’t a whole lot of hidden meaning behind the colours. The logo predates the gay-pride flag by about a year, so that wasn’t it—and there also goes the whole Alan Turing myth! The religious myths are just that too—there’s no ‘Eve and Garden of Eden’ and ‘bite from the fruit of knowledge’ symbolism!
I didn’t have much of a formal brief on the logo assignment, other than “don’t make it cute”. But I did know the selling points of the Apple Computer, and one of the biggest was colour capability. To me, that looked like colour bars on a monitor, which became the stripes in the logo. The order of the stripes, I’m sorry to say, had no particular grand plan other than I liked them that way. And, of course, the green stripe would be at the top where the leaf is.
The bite is really about scale and the common experience of biting into an apple. It was a happy accident that ‘byte’ is a computer term.
Apple’s logo is considered truly iconic, alongside logos like Nike’s. How does it feel to have been responsible for such a versatile, recognisable and long-lasting design?
Nobody’s ever asked me that before. It’s almost an out-of-body experience when the logo pops into my field of vision unexpectedly. I’ve felt the same way when I see a print ad or a TV spot I did when I’m not expecting it. But they only live for a week or two. And although the logo has changed over the years, it’s still the same basic shape and concept I designed over 30 years ago. I feel incredibly lucky to have crossed paths with Steve Jobs when I did. It’s kind of like watching your kids grow up and do really well. I’m incredibly proud of my kids—and the logo too.
What do you think about Apple’s more recent changes to the Apple logo, such as its move to a single colour, often with 3D effects?
Hey, it’s all about growing up. Everything goes through changes as it ages. I’m glad the logo has been able to keep up with the times. Logos often need to say different things as they age. I’m just glad it’s in such capable hands.
Are there any jobs you’ve worked on that particularly stand out for you?
One of the down sides of doing your most memorable piece of work so early in your career is that it’s hard to beat. Most of my career has not been about being a designer—it’s been about being an advertising art director. So I don’t really have a job that compares to the Apple logo. I would say coming up with an idea for a TV spot and watching it grow from concept to finished product was great most of the time, but most advertising isn’t as enduring.
February 23, 2011. Read more in: Apple, Design, Interviews
20 comments on “An interview with Rob Janoff, designer of the Apple logo”
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Merman says:February 23, 2011 at 8:04 pm
Very interesting… you could almost say that the revisions of the Apple logo reflect the revisions of Apple hardware/software and the company itself. Reducing it down to something recognisable but making gradual improvements.
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An Interview With The Designer Of The Apple Logo | iPhather says:February 24, 2011 at 7:45 am
[...] Grannel posted a transcript of his interview with the designer of the original Apple logo, Rob Janoff. Sorry to [...]
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Igor says:February 24, 2011 at 7:49 am
Glad to see that myths are busted.
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What’s in an icon? | Nature's Eye Studios says:February 24, 2011 at 9:47 am
[...] Via Revert To Saved [...]
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Intervista con il creatore del logo Apple | iPadevice Italia - Il Primo Blog italiano sull'Apple iPad - iPad 2 Italia says:February 24, 2011 at 11:38 am
[...] Via | Reverttosaved [...]
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Intervista con Rob Janoff, il creatore del logo Apple! says:February 24, 2011 at 1:30 pm
[...] generazioni: la mela morsicata di Apple. Proprio Janoff ha raccontato alcuni retroscena in un’interessante intervista che vi proponiamo in questo articolo. Come usi i Mac e come ti aiutano nel lavoro? Uso i Mac per [...]
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News World Wild » Blog Archive » Intervista con Rob Janoff, il creatore del logo Apple! says:February 24, 2011 at 1:36 pm
[...] generazioni: la mela morsicata di Apple. Proprio Janoff ha raccontato alcuni retroscena in un’interessante intervista che vi proponiamo in questo articolo. Come usi i Mac e come ti aiutano nel lavoro? Uso i Mac per [...]
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Intervista ufficiale al designer del logo Apple says:February 24, 2011 at 5:30 pm
[...] ha avuto 35 visite L’intervista originale in inglese è disponibile a questo indirizzo : LINK , noi l’abbiamo tradotta e ve la proponiamo su questo [...]
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Appleロゴのデザイナーが真実を語る | Page i says:February 25, 2011 at 1:01 am
[...] 往年の虹色、Appleロゴのデザイナー、Rob Janoff氏へのインタビューがウェブサイトREVERT TO SAVEDに掲載された。1976年に誕生したこのロゴにはいろいろな説があるが、果たして真相は……？ [...]
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will says:February 28, 2011 at 8:07 pm
Its funny if this was the basis for a degree paper it would fail. All the things your tought about justifying design descisions go out the window when a piece of design like this comes along.
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Jan Karlsbjerg says:February 28, 2011 at 8:18 pm
Funny how different people see different meanings in pictures. The original Apple logo certainly didn’t appeal to me:
Once upon a time I attended a lecture on semiotics, the study of signs and symbols. Apple’s logo (1976-1998) was displayed, and professor and fellow students talked about how friendly and inviting and organic the logo was, and how warm it made them feel the first time they saw it.
To me it looked (and still looks) like a completely artificial, chemical object. A decorative wax apple, with shocking colors to warn anyone from mistaking it for a real apple. Yet somebody did, they took a bite out of the side of the apple and then put the apple back down again. A real apple with a chunk missing would quickly decay, of course, change its color and form, fold in on the missing chunk. But not this apple; it maintains a constant, non-degraded form, proving that there’s nothing biological about it.
(From a post I wrote three years ago: www.jankarlsbjerg.com/blog/archives/2008/02/18/deconstructing-apples-and-ibms-logos/ )
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Paul Nelson says:March 2, 2011 at 7:13 pm
The logo is definitely a great creation and just on time!
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Wednesday 9 March 2011 | Fold & Cut says:March 9, 2011 at 12:17 am
[...] An interview with Rob Janoff, designer of the Apple logo, at Revert to Saved [...]
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OlsonBW says:March 16, 2011 at 3:00 pm
Jan Karlsbjerg
There is another way to think about that Apple that you either missed or didn’t mention.
Think about it like a snapshot (picture) of an apple that was just set down on a table after someone took a bite out of it. Not a video or film or real life with it aging but a picture of it that was taken that someone has hung on a wall. Pictures may age but the subject of the picture doesn’t.
You could say the changes in colors and going from 2D to 3D are just different snapshots of very similar apples taken at different points in time.
Think of them as old and not so old pictures of family that you look at that are hanging/attached to your wall. Not everything is live and aging and decaying in front of you.
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Загадка логотипа Apple says:March 16, 2011 at 9:41 pm
[...] замечаем нечто знакомое: лого Apple, и никак не наоборот. [reverttosaved] Без комментариев Просмотров новости: 4 [...]
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Apple II History » Blog Archive » Bitten Apples says:March 17, 2011 at 3:16 am
[...] In this post on the Revert To Saved blog, we have an interview with Rob Janoff about the origins of the famous logo used by Apple Computer. I myself have been sent emails over the years asking about the symbolism of the bitten apple logo, and was asked, “Wasn’t this the real story??” [...]
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jayessell says:March 18, 2011 at 11:37 pm
The bag that came/was purchased with my Apple ][ in 1976.
farm6.static.flickr.com/5009/5290377878_41bb80e651.jpg
No bite in the Apple apple!
Check out my Apple ][ Youtubes and Flickrs with
username jsl151850b -
Ross Boardman says:March 19, 2011 at 9:41 am
Almost as good as the fedex logo
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MacDaily.ge » ეპლის ლოგოს ისტორია says:March 19, 2011 at 2:42 pm
[...] ვაშლის დიზაინერი რობ ჯენოფი Reverttosaved-თან ინტერვიუში იხსენებს ლეგენდარულ ლოგოზე მუშაობის [...]
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x5.log » Blog Archive » Apple Logo之父──Rob Janoff访谈 says:March 19, 2011 at 3:39 pm
[...] 大家都听过这个传言：Apple的logo是为了纪念Alan Turing（没错，那个最著名的图灵奖，就是因他而得名的）的自杀而得来的，但究竟Apple的这个logo是如何来设计出来的呢？让我们看看N年前对它的设计者Rob Janoff的采访吧（采访原文请点击这里）。 [...]