Corporate Identity of Apple

When considering corporate identity, we can see it associates to a brands identity or image, but there is rarely an overall unanimity to its meaning. Writers such as John Balmer, equated the brand to its identity, “the strategic importance of corporate brand management (or what is more appropriately called strategic corporate identity management) would appear to be irrefutable”. (Balmer J. M., 1995) I have chosen to focus on Apple incorporate for this essay. Apple is a prominent computer software company known for its computers, iPods and iPhones. As well as that, they are also ingenious with their marketing and advertising techniques. As part of my essay I will be discussing the importance of graphic design and marketing in relation to the rebrand of Apple. While also answering the question on, how both the fields of design and marketing contribute to the ‘identity’ of Apple as a brand.

Logo design is an integral part of brand identity and this relates to Apple as a brand. I will be discussing the importance of graphic design to the rebrand of Apple. The face of the brand is its logo which has become synonymous over the years. The first iteration of the logo was created in 1976 by co-creator Ron Wayne and featured Sir Isaac Newton under and apple tree (fig.2). It was quickly replaced by the infamous “rainbow apple” with a bite taken out of it (fig.3) which was designed by Rob Janoff and his design team.

Rumours sparked that the design was inspired by Alan Turing and the tragic death by cyanide poisoning. Although, according toTouraj Saberivand, the bite in the apple was included, as to not resemble other fruits “I was going for the silhouette of an apple, but to make it look more like an apple and not some other round fruit, I did what one does with an apple, I took a bite out of it” (History of the apple logo design, 2018). The famous rainbow silhouette of an apple was used from May 1976 up until August 1999.While having the option to go with a monochromatic look, Steve Jobs had the intention to colorize the logo and include the addition of stripes in order to “humanize the company” and make it more accessible (Corporate Identity, n.d.).The purpose of the colours and the stripes in the “bitten” apple was to show that the company could generate colour in graphics. According to Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, “Putting colour in the computer was probably one of the biggest things Apple ever did” (VITICCI, 2011). This example of graphic design was important in showing how apple’s software was ground breaking and ingenious.

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With the turn of the century just around the corner, Apple decided to change their old logo into something more modern and fitting of the time. Dropping the ‘Apple Computer inc’ from their logo, they went with a monochromatic approach that would fit the new metal casings of the iMacs and this has remained with the brand over the decades since. The translucent and the aqua versions of the logo (fig.4), gave the company a clean fresh look, which was modern and fit the aesthetics of the early 00’s. In this case, graphic design helped Apple transition from the old look of the company, that didn’t fit with the look of their new products, to the Apple II phase. Which was all glossy packaging and shiny new products.

The objective of marketing is to have a unique selling point. In past years, Apple has been known for its successful marketing and advertising techniques. Which makes marketing an integral part of the rebrand of Apple. The original slogan “Byte into an Apple” (fig.6) was a humorous take on what was mainly a computer software company with their reference to terabyte in their advertising. Later on, around the same time as the slogan changed to “Think Different” (fig.5) the logo was also modernised. This new approach encouraged its customers to be individuals and just as innovative with their work as the company, Apple is. Over the years, campaigns related to newly released products have been included the greeting hello. As in “Hello”, was used to introduce the original Macintosh and “say hello to iPhone” to introduce the iPhone. With a clear focus on customer experience, Apple exceeds all other brand in terms of their marketing focused on the apple community. In this case, marketing is important to the rebrand of apple as it offers consumers an insight to what ideals they’re buying into.

Graphic design contributes to the identity of Apple as it creates the visual image of the brand, through its logo, which changes the way the brand is perceived. As a result of successful graphic design, the logo has become well-known world-wide and, in turn so has the brand. Even though, President Trump did refer to the current CEO as Tim Apple (fig.7). I’m not sure if this was positive for their marketing, that the company has managed to successfully brand themselves, and people remember the face of the business or by the message it conveys. However, I do think this shows that the brand is so much bigger than its CEO. The focus on corporate identity leans to the archetypal user interface design important to the ‘human- computer’, “using design to build brand value and corporate innovation” (Mozota, 2000).

The minimalistic aesthetics of Apple, with its monochromatic logo in front of a blank background, also aid in its stance that Apples products are aimed for the upper class. A sleek, sophisticated product in a world of excess. The clean graphic design does allow the product to speak for itself, while it also has become an accessory to have or carry around by the modern millennial. ‘A signifier of one’s wealth’ but also of a creative profession, this contributes to the identity of the brand.

When it comes to marketing, its purpose is to find a unique selling proposition to these ubiquitous products to the dedicated apple buyer’s community. A community which is mostly viewed as wealthier and younger. They reach this target market through the placement of their stores. Apple wouldn’t comment on how they decide upon the location of their retailers. However, in America alone 251 of 270 stores are astoundingly located in ZIP codes with a majority of white people with higher wages “going after the high-end of the market, so their store location choices typically go after areas that are considered upscale” (Josephs, 2017). By controlling the prices on sale events such as Black Friday, with little or no discounts, Apple still remains a business that sells to the upper middle class, unlike other electronic companies. In order to keep up with their product aesthetics, they have their advertising stripped back to keep the attention on details of the products. Clean adverts with no spec aid in the aesthetics of the brand. These make it a brand who’s effective marketing contributes to its corporate identity as a higher end brand.

In conclusion, the rebrand of Apple was not as evident as other brands, as it was executed over time, a continuous progression and modernisation of the brand. Graphic design and marketing have had significant importance to the rebrand and contribute to the identity of Apple. They do this by creating a company strategy aimed at the luxury market. Wired wrote that “the smartphone has become the lifeblood of social interaction and upward mobility” (Josephs, 2017). This is also true in the case of Apple when an ‘i’ is fixated on the back of a phone or a ‘Mac’ on the back of a computer device.

Bibliography

• A Great Example of Re- Branding: Apple inc. (n.d.). Retrieved April 26, 2019, from missdetails.com: https://missdetails.com/a-great-example-of-re-branding-apple-inc/
• Balmer, J. M. (1995, September 1). Corporate Branding and Connoisseurship. Journal of General Management, 21(1), 24-46.
• Balmer, J. M. (1998). Corporate Identity and the Advent of Corporate Marketing. Journal of Marketing Management, 963-996.
• Conradt, S. (2015, June 1). Did Alan Turing Inspire the Apple Logo? Retrieved from mentalfloss.com: http://mentalfloss.com/article/64049/did-alan-turing-inspire-apple-logo
• Corporate Identity. (n.d.). Retrieved April 25, 2019, from https://1020applecompany.weebly.com/corporate-identity.html
• George Adr, V. A. (2012). Logo Design and the Corporate Identity. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 51, 650-654.
• History of the apple logo design. (2018). Retrieved from https://inkbotdesign.com/apple-logo-design/
• Huseyinoglu, M. (2019, January 29). What is Apple’s Strategy? Retrieved from The Startup , medium.com: https://medium.com/swlh/what-is-apples-strategy-8e9d822732f6
• Ind, N. (1997). The Corporate Brand.In:The Corporate Brand. London: Palgrave Macmillan.
• Josephs, B. (2017, November 22). Power. Retrieved April 2019, from theoutline.com.
• Lake, L. (2019, March 02). The Differences Between Marketing and Advertising. Retrieved from thebalancesmb.com: https://www.thebalancesmb.com/marketing-vs-advertising-what-s-the-difference-2294825
• Marcus, A. (1984, November). Corporate identity for iconic interface design: The graphic design perspective. Interfaces in computing, 2(4), 365-378.
• Moorman, C. (2018, January 12). Why Apple is Still A Great Marketer And What You Can Learn. Retrieved from forbes.com: https://www.forbes.com/sites/christinemoorman/2018/01/12/why-apple-is-still-a-great-marketer-and-what-you-can-learn/
• Mozota, B. D. (2000). Design Management. In B. B. Mozota. Simon and Schuster.
• Rouse, M. (2009, April). Apple. Retrieved April 24, 2019, from TechTarget WhatIs.com?: https://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/Apple
• VITICCI, F. (2011, February 9). Woz: Putting Color In The Computer Was One Of The Biggest Things Apple Ever Did. Retrieved April 2019, from MacStories: https://www.macstories.net/news/woz-putting-color-in-the-computer-was-one-of-the-biggest-things-apple-ever-did/

References

• A Great Example of Re- Branding: Apple inc. (n.d.). Retrieved April 26, 2019, from missdetails.com: https://missdetails.com/a-great-example-of-re-branding-apple-inc/
• Balmer, J. M. (1995, September 1). Corporate Branding and Connoisseurship. Journal of General Management, 21(1), 24-46.
• Balmer, J. M. (1998). Corporate Identity and the Advent of Corporate Marketing. Journal of Marketing Management, 963-996.
• Conradt, S. (2015, June 1). Did Alan Turing Inspire the Apple Logo? Retrieved from mentalfloss.com: http://mentalfloss.com/article/64049/did-alan-turing-inspire-apple-logo
• Corporate Identity. (n.d.). Retrieved April 25, 2019, from https://1020applecompany.weebly.com/corporate-identity.html
• George Adr, V. A. (2012). Logo Design and the Corporate Identity. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 51, 650-654.
• History of the apple logo design. (2018). Retrieved from https://inkbotdesign.com/apple-logo-design/
• Huseyinoglu, M. (2019, January 29). What is Apple’s Strategy? Retrieved from The Startup , medium.com: https://medium.com/swlh/what-is-apples-strategy-8e9d822732f6
• Ind, N. (1997). The Corporate Brand.In:The Corporate Brand. London: Palgrave Macmillan.
• Josephs, B. (2017, November 22). Power. Retrieved April 2019, from theoutline.com.
• Lake, L. (2019, March 02). The Differences Between Marketing and Advertising. Retrieved from thebalancesmb.com: https://www.thebalancesmb.com/marketing-vs-advertising-what-s-the-difference-2294825
• Marcus, A. (1984, November). Corporate identity for iconic interface design: The graphic design perspective. Interfaces in computing, 2(4), 365-378.
• Moorman, C. (2018, January 12). Why Apple is Still A Great Marketer And What You Can Learn. Retrieved from forbes.com: https://www.forbes.com/sites/christinemoorman/2018/01/12/why-apple-is-still-a-great-marketer-and-what-you-can-learn/
• Mozota, B. D. (2000). Design Management. In B. B. Mozota. Simon and Schuster.
• Rouse, M. (2009, April). Apple. Retrieved April 24, 2019, from TechTarget WhatIs.com?: https://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/Apple
• VITICCI, F. (2011, February 9). Woz: Putting Color In The Computer Was One Of The Biggest Things Apple Ever Did. Retrieved April 2019, from MacStories: https://www.macstories.net/news/woz-putting-color-in-the-computer-was-one-of-the-biggest-things-apple-ever-did/

Works Cited

• A Great Example of Re- Branding: Apple inc. (n.d.). Retrieved April 26, 2019, from missdetails.com: https://missdetails.com/a-great-example-of-re-branding-apple-inc/
• Balmer, J. M. (1995, September 1). Corporate Branding and Connoisseurship. Journal of General Management, 21(1), 24-46.
• Balmer, J. M. (1998). Corporate Identity and the Advent of Corporate Marketing. Journal of Marketing Management, 963-996.
• Conradt, S. (2015, June 1). Did Alan Turing Inspire the Apple Logo? Retrieved from mentalfloss.com: http://mentalfloss.com/article/64049/did-alan-turing-inspire-apple-logo
• Corporate Identity. (n.d.). Retrieved April 25, 2019, from https://1020applecompany.weebly.com/corporate-identity.html
• George Adr, V. A. (2012). Logo Design and the Corporate Identity. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 51, 650-654.
• History of the apple logo design. (2018). Retrieved from https://inkbotdesign.com/apple-logo-design/
• Huseyinoglu, M. (2019, January 29). What is Apple’s Strategy? Retrieved from The Startup , medium.com: https://medium.com/swlh/what-is-apples-strategy-8e9d822732f6
• Ind, N. (1997). The Corporate Brand.In:The Corporate Brand. London: Palgrave Macmillan.
• Josephs, B. (2017, November 22). Power. Retrieved April 2019, from theoutline.com.
• Lake, L. (2019, March 02). The Differences Between Marketing and Advertising. Retrieved from thebalancesmb.com: https://www.thebalancesmb.com/marketing-vs-advertising-what-s-the-difference-2294825
• Marcus, A. (1984, November). Corporate identity for iconic interface design: The graphic design perspective. Interfaces in computing, 2(4), 365-378.
• Moorman, C. (2018, January 12). Why Apple is Still A Great Marketer And What You Can Learn. Retrieved from forbes.com: https://www.forbes.com/sites/christinemoorman/2018/01/12/why-apple-is-still-a-great-marketer-and-what-you-can-learn/
• Mozota, B. D. (2000). Design Management. In B. B. Mozota. Simon and Schuster.
• Rouse, M. (2009, April). Apple. Retrieved April 24, 2019, from TechTarget WhatIs.com?: https://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/Apple
• VITICCI, F. (2011, February 9). Woz: Putting Color In The Computer Was One Of The Biggest Things Apple Ever Did. Retrieved April 2019, from MacStories: https://www.macstories.net/news/woz-putting-color-in-the-computer-was-one-of-the-biggest-things-apple-ever-did/