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Journalists Cover Microsoft, Using Macs

It’s not an easy time for Microsoft — with Steve Ballmer having to field questions about being “buffoons” and an “evil empire”  at the shareholder’s meeting (.doc) — so when they get together “the world’s most influential technology pundits and online writers” (nb: we weren’t invited) for Mobius to discuss super-secret mobile tech you’d think [...]

Guide To Black Friday Apple Bargains: Cheap MacBooks, iPods and Accessories Galore

Here’s a guide for finding the best bargains on Apple-related gear during the infamous Black Friday sales on November 27. We’ve compiled a comprehensive list of gear from leaked photos of sales flyers and descriptions of sales.
The bargains include a 2.26 GHz MacBook + $150 gift card at Best Buy for $999.99 ; a 32GB [...]

Review: Voices Is Today’s Best Thing Ever, Grab It Now While It’s Cheap

New on the App Store is Voices from the clever folk at Tap Tap Tap. You can guess what it does.

Open it up, pick a silly voice. Helium is pretty silly. A microphone appears and the app even clears your throat for you (try it, you’ll see what I mean). Now speak your brains, and [...]

Review: Sony Walkman S540 Series Video MP3 Player

Press releases, you will hardly be surprised to hear, are rarely very interesting. But one arrived in my inbox a couple of weeks ago that made me double-take.
“Sony’s S Series Walkman,” it chattered, “is a serious challenger to the iPod Nano.” Gosh, really? Perhaps the Cult had better have a look at one, then, despite [...]

Rob Janoff on Creating the Apple Logo

In a nice little piece of Internet archeology, an interview with graphic designer Rob Janoff  on the creation of the iconic Apple rainbow logo has resurfaced at zlok.net.

In 1976, Janoff worked as an art director for Regis McKenna where he created the logo, it was a pro-bono gig.

“For inspiration, the first thing I did was go to the supermarket, buy a bag of apples and slice them up. I just stared at the wedges for hours,” recalls Janoff. The fruit of his labor: a simple 2-D monochromatic apple, with a healthy bite taken from the right side. Jobs loved the conceit-only he suggested it be more colorful. Janoff’s boss disagreed, insisting the logo be made all black to save on printing costs.

“But Jobs was resolute, arguing that color was the key to humanizing the company,” says Janoff. “So I just put colors where I thought they should be, not even thinking about a prism.” What thanks did Janoff, now the owner of his own Chicago-based graphic design firm, get for all his hard work? “Not even a holiday card.”

Full article here.

Janoff’s site also has a nice radio interview with him talking about his “eureka” moment as he made the logo…

About the author

nicole_martinelli

Nicole Martinelli was born in San Francisco and has lived in Milan and Florence, Italy. Cultish tendencies and love for DIY increased while living on the Old Continent, where tech came late and cost more in Big Mac index terms. She's written for Wired.com, The New York Times and Newsweek, and since 1999 on her site, Zoomata. If you're so inclined, friend her on Facebook or connect on Linked in.

Email the author | Read more posts by Nicole Martinelli.

8 comments

    And you see STUPID singers/rappers making millions these day!

    Thanks for this! It’s articles like these that keep me coming back to Cult of Mac everyday. I most likely would not have found out about this if it had not been posted here. This is something I have wondered about and now I know the secret of the Apple logo. Thank you! Knowledge is power…

    [...] Apple does take their time recognizing inventors, though — maybe the card’s in the mail.[via Cult of Mac]TUAWRob Janoff and how he made the Apple logo originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog [...]

    [...] Apple does take their time recognizing inventors, though — maybe the card’s in the mail.[via Cult of Mac]Rob Janoff and how he made the Apple logo originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) [...]

    [...] Apple does take their time recognizing inventors, though — maybe the card’s in the mail.[via Cult of Mac]TUAWRob Janoff and how he made the Apple logo originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog [...]

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