10 ORIGINAL COMPANY LOGOS YOU WOULDN’T RECOGNIZE

THEN AND NOW…

Graphic Design & Brand IdentityOnce you get out of school for graphic design, one of the potential job prospects is to work in a marketing department on corporate branding.

It is easy to underestimate the power of a logo on how we perceive companies.

But if you compare the original logos for some of the world’s most well-known companies to the logos they have now, you can see how powerful graphic design can really be.

Let’s take a look at the evolution of 10 corporate logos, then and now…

NintendoBefore Nintendo was in the business of video game design, they were actually a playing card company.

The original logo from 1889 consisted of three words (nin, ten, and do).

But it wasn’t until 1967, when the company ventured into creating electronic toys, that the company we now know as Nintendo was born.

Over 100 years later, the current logo was introduced in 2006.

Then… Now…

AppleApple is one of the most iconic (and one of the most cash-rich) companies in the world today.

And they got there largely in part due to their branding and sleek design, which is often minimalist.

But their current identity is a far departure from their original 1976 logo, which came complete with an inscription which read:

"Newton … A Mind Forever Voyaging Through Strange Seas of Thought … Alone."

Then… Now…

McDonald’sThe now-famous golden arches weren’t always McDonald’s symbol.

In fact, McDonald’s wasn’t always the fast-food restaurant we know today.

The first restaurant operated by McDonald’s served burgers, but it was also a place for barbecue. The iconic McDonald’s fries weren’t even an option.

By the late 1940s McDonald’s decided to focus on burgers and speedy service, creating “Chef Speedee” as a mascot.

Then… Now…

Coca ColaAlthough it is now one of the most recognizable and most valuable brands in the world, Coca Cola’s original logo wasn’t nearly as recognizable as the one now.

Created in 1886, the original logo was simple and without color.

In the 1900s Coca Cola introduced the script which they have stuck with ever since (except for a short departure in 1985, which didn’t last very long).

Then… Now…

MasterCardAlong with being one of the most universally-accepted payment methods, MasterCard also has one of the most universally known logos.

But it wasn’t always that way.

In 1966 the company was actually known as Interbank. By 1969, it transitioned into the newer logo with the overlapping circles, and went by the name of Master Charge.

1979 saw the birth of MasterCard as we know it today (with a few slight tweaks along the way).

Then… Now…

PepsiPepsi wasn’t always known by that name. It was first introduced to the market in 1893 under the name “Brad’s Drink.”

A re-branding in 1898 saw the birth of Pepsi-Cola, complete with a brand new logo.

Unlike Coca Cola, Pepsi went with a fancier script and color right away. The two companies actually had logos that resembled each other for a while.

After several iterations, and decades with new a new logo, Pepsi re-introduced script in a logo/script combo in 2014.

Then… Now…

NokiaNokia is now best known for their mobile devices. But it wasn’t always the case. They have a history of selling quite a variety of products, including televisions, car tires, shoes, and more.

They’ve also had a variety of logos throughout their history, beginning in 1865.

The word “Nokia” actually refers to an animal – one that is not a fish. But a fish took center stage in its original logo.

But then again, the company is Scandinavian…

Then… Now…

XeroxWhat we know today as Xerox was born in 1906 as the Harloid Company. And it had a logo to match.

In 1948, the Xerox name was born out of the invention of xerography, a photocopy technique (although the Harloid name was still incorporated in the logo).

The idea became a huge success, and the company became known as just Xerox in 1961.

Then… Now…

IBMThe company that is IBM today was found in 1896 as the Tabulating Machine Company.

It wasn’t until 1924 that the company adopted the name it holds to this day: International Business Machines.

The logo has changed along with the name changes, and through different eras.

While the newest logo holds a similar design to the IBM we’ve seen for decades, it has gone back to the classic black-and-white.

Then… Now…

MercedesAs far as car logos go, the three pointed star of Mercedes-Benz is as iconic as it gets.

But it wasn’t always the symbol for the German automaker.

Prior to a merger of separate companies before World War I, Mercedes had a very straightforward logo without any symbols; just the name.

In 1909 the company introduced the three-pointed star which has lasted (with a few evolutions) ever since.

Then… Now…

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