The Upside Down Apple Logo

In real-life and on television, Apple products are easy to identify thanks to their front-and-center logos. It wasn’t that long ago, however, that the Apple logo on laptops and desktops looked quite different. No, we’re not talking about the color of the logo; rather, the Apple was upside down, according to blogger Joe Moreno (Mea Vita). Steve Jobs will forever be known for his creativity and ability to make products people want to buy. However, when it came to how best to place the Apple logo on those products, the late Apple co-founder got it completely wrong, at least initially.

"Why is the Apple logo upside down on laptops when the lid is open?"

Moreno wondered why earlier Apple products showed the logo upside down. According to the Apple design group, “If the Apple logo was placed such that it was right side up when the lid was opened then it ended up being upside down when the lid was closed, from the point of view of the user.” In other words, from a users’ perspective, it was all wrong.

Because the design group noticed that users constantly tried to open the laptop from the wrong end. Steve Jobs always (focused) on providing the best possible user experience and believed that it was more important to satisfy the user than the onlooker.

Luckily, Jobs (and Apple) changed course. Beginning in 2004, Apple logos were placed on the upside. As Moreno concludes, “opening a laptop from the wrong end is a self-correcting problem that only lasts for a few seconds. However, viewing the upside logo is a problem that lasts indefinitely.” Well said, don’t you think?

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