Apple Logo and The American Dream - American Values

To start with, in this American values essay I will argument how these values affects our life. The American dream to me is all about family values. The American dream is defined as the ideal by which equality of opportunity is available to any American, allowing the highest aspirations and goals to be achieved. Apple have always had their finger on the pulse of the average American household. Apple popularized personal computers by advertising it as a part of your life. A new way of thinking at the time, a new way of life for the American household, they revolutionized the first personal computer for public use. The American dream is built on strong families, and Apple knew that. It is rooted in intact families and strong communities, it’s the hope that your children can do better than you did. Everyone has an Apple product nowadays, and it all started with the Apple II computer. Through the years Apple have not only changed their products and business strategy, but also their logo to represent that change.

The original Apple logo features Isaac Newton under the fabled apple tree. Encapsulated in a painting-like, hand drawn sketch, the frame is engulfed in a swathe of cloth and wavy scroll, bold lettering printed; the company title, all of which encircles elegantly around the frame. It is a black and white logo which feels old-fashioned and outdated. It was designed by Ronald Wayne, “sometimes referred to as the third co-founder of Apple.” The logo failed because of its medieval and arcane approach, the message was unclear, it can easily be misunderstood and seems misplaced as a computer company logo. Their brand image wasn’t clear yet. What are they trying to say, how are they communicating that to the general public? “The main idea behind Apple is bringing simplicity to the public, with the most sophisticated way, and that’s it, nothing else. The fruit of creation, Apple. It was simple but strong.”

Gone with ancient history as this short lived design would soon come to pass and be shelved to make way for the now iconic Apple logo design. Full of colors of the rainbow neatly stacked and filed in individual rows and columns, the overall design entails an apple icon facing rightward with a bite taken out of it, hence the bitten apple. “The rainbow spectrum was because their computer (Apple II) was the world’s first with color display.” This new logo was designed by Rob Janoff in 1977. “A simpler, more streamlined design,” a singular icon of a bitten apple, shifting to a wordless logo. A simple yet brilliant move saw Apple and Steve Jobs as they were taking a chance and risking a lot because consumers had barely even heard of the brand at the time. “Steve Jobs wanted the Apple name and logo to be fused as one.”

This will go down as a landmark shift in the company’s history as well as marking a monumental shift in the market and industry. Apple is marketing to family ideals and American values as they try to make an appeal for kids having personal computers in the household. This was a radical change as before kids didn’t need computers for schoolwork, now Apple are trying to sell the idea that owning a personal computer will not only benefit you as a part of your life but as an essential tool for living out the rest of your life. With the Apple II computer, coming out in April of 1977, Apple showed the world how easy it was to own your very own computer. It was the first user-friendly system, with the BASIC programming language already built-in, it was ready to run right out of the box. Speaking of the box, Jobs oversaw the development of the Apple II’s foam-molded plastic case as packaging the product was as important as the product itself, as Jobs knew what the brand had to represent was a clear distinction from its competitors.

The Apple II computer was the first microcomputer produced on a large scale. It was often referred to as the people’s computer, because it made using computers easy for the general public. Home computers are now classified as a class of microcomputers that entered the market in 1977 and later would become common during the 1980s. It first started with marketing campaigns and ads to try and sell to American households. Through this they advocated the importance of the education of your child. Now with core American family values and ideals as their prominent, marquee marketing strategy, Apple has rebranded itself from before. Apple are now selling directly to American households by simplifying the stigma that personal computers, or computers in general for that matter are for everyone.

The company’s core identity adapting and evolving in order to meet consumer needs and ever changing market demands, with innovation being the mission statement and key to the company’s ideals and driving motivation, this sudden shift will irrefutably be marked down as one for the history books. Although not many people know of, or even heard of Apple’s original logo, we can see that it was a turning point in the company’s history. The lessons learned through that time of discovery and rebranding, finding the identity that they wanted to sell to the public, hence brand image, helps us track the evolution of the company since the early days upon its inception. From an arcane and bleak, or lacking personality, mysterious logo to when they shifted to try and make the brand seem more personal rather than a corporate entity by branding themselves as a family computer company, in order to distinguish themselves from the rest of their competitors on the market. Apple tries and still continues trying to sell you a key necessity, an aspect you cannot live without due to its numerous benefits, Apple will make your life easier and better, introducing this dynamic and this mantra, a need, an essential part of your daily everyday activities or rather, your life, this is how they try to sell you on their brand rather than just pushing a product. American values, the American dream for family values and the education of their child, for an easier day at the workforce so they can go back earlier to their families. We can see a stark contrast from the previous logo, and the overall convoluted and unsure identity of the company to now, the confident and assured notion that Apple is, and always will be, the go-to brand for technological innovations and user-friendly system with a high level of trust being built through years of filling in every home across America and the world over.