The Iconic Apple

I'm fascinated by this one: how objects become icons and how symbolism – their meaning – becomes attached to them over time.

Take the humble apple – or rather not so humble, as since the Bible it had been laden down with significance. Temptation, original sin – and the fall from grace. All that from such a humble fruit. And now it is an icon with a reinterpreted significance: by the other Apple. Their apple is reputed to be in homage to Issac Newton – who observed an apple fall to the ground and imagined gravity. Clever.

And so the apple has switched in symbolism: from religion to science in just a mere couple of centuries.

So when a brand appropriates a logo, they are becoming part of centuries of storytelling around an object or a shape. Quite a legacy to live up to.

AT