{"id":2859,"date":"2020-09-07T20:30:23","date_gmt":"2020-09-07T19:30:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/garethdavidstudio.com\/blog\/?p=2859"},"modified":"2020-10-22T18:11:40","modified_gmt":"2020-10-22T17:11:40","slug":"next-logo-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/garethdavidstudio.com\/blog\/next-logo-review\/","title":{"rendered":"NeXT Logo Review – Designing For A New World Of Technology"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

We all know Steve Jobs as the co-founder of Apple, but did you know he also founded another computer company? After co-founding Apple with his high school friend in 1976, Apple saw great success and became a well-known brand. However, after facing some problems with the first Macs in 1985, Jobs was pushed out of his own company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This didn\u2019t stop him though. He believed in the power of personal computers and what the future could hold. So, he picked himself up and started a new hard- and software company. NeXT Inc., would manufacture computer workstations for higher education and business markets. What Jobs now needed was a brand identity, for which he approached one man, and one man only.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Paul Rand<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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At the time, Paul Rand was a renowned designer with an impressive portfolio that included brands such as IBM, Westinghouse, ABC and UPS. His philosophy was that a logo should be not only beautiful, but also functional.  Throughout his career, Rand’s work displayed the quality of simplicity. He was one of the first American designers to incorporate the Swiss Style of graphic design, with a less is more approach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Ideally, a logo should \u201cexplain or suggest the business it <\/em>symbolises\u201d. <\/em><\/strong><\/p>Paul Rand<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Rand didn’t normally work for startups, however, he believed in Jobs ideas. So, when Jobs approached him asking for a logo, Rand accepted. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The problem Rand was tasked with was to create a logo that would identify the company without requiring the company name always attached alongside. Without spending \u201c10 years and $100mil\u201d, Jobs wanted the NeXT logo to be an instantly recognisable \u201cjewel\u201d that sat on the product and marketing material. Knowing the product would be housed in a black cube and the brand name, Rand got to work on designing the logo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat is essential is finding a meaningful device, some idea\u2014preferably product-related\u2014that reinforces the company name. <\/em><\/strong><\/p>Paul Rand<\/strong><\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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The Logo<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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The NeXT logo is, essentially, an emblem style logo, occurring in one instance and only changing in scale. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The cube, in which the computer will be housed, can be such a device because it has visual impact, and is easy to remember. Unlike the word Next, it is depictable, possesses the promise of meaning and pleasure of recognition.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>Paul Rand<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Originally NEXT, Rand explains that the capitalisation of all letters could cause confusion between NEXT and EXIT, due to the EXT combination. To alleviate this problem, a combination of lowercase and uppercase letters are used. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The de-capitalised ‘e’ provides a “focal point and visual contrast against the capital letters”, all of which use straight lines. The sans serif style typeface was chosen for its ability to exploit and manipulate possible visual ideas. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Presenting The Logo<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Rand was known for presenting his designs in a presentation booklet that walked the reader through the thought process and meaning behind his design. Throughout the 100-page book Rand presented to Jobs, he explains the steps he took and the reasons behind the choices he made to arrive at the final logo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rand starts by presenting a range of typeface options to show how the word would look in each. He explains how his decision to de-capitalise the ‘e’ was not simply to reduce confusion, but that the \u2018e\u2019 could also stand for education, excellence, expertise, exceptional, excitement and e=mc\u00b2. By placing the word NeXT within the black cube, Rand was able to avoid the need for a symbol and<\/em> a wordmark.<\/p>\n\n\n\n