Brand & Visual Vocab - Apple Logo
One of the most recognizable logos in technology is the Apple logo. As a longtime Apple user (I was using an Apple II E at the age of 3), I have followed the evolution of the Apple logo through the years. One thing that makes the Apple logo work is the obvious fact that it is a picture of an apple, and therefore easily recognizable and memorable. It is also easily scaleable as compared to a logo like the Yahoo! logo, which loses its meaning once it becomes too small to read.

Yahoo's solution is to use only the distinctive "Y" and "!" from their logo (adding a smiley) for use in a smaller form, which isn't nearly as instantly recognizable as an Apple logo of any size.

Apple's Logo also has the advantage of being based completely on shape rather than color. This allows apple to change the color as an indication of a new version of software or hardware. Compare this to Microsoft's logo, which would be nearly unrecognizable if it weren't for its colors. Also note that two of the colors are red and green, which a good percentage of the male population cannot see due to color-blindness.

Apple's logo is also placed strategically on every piece of hardware they sell, which is by the number of glowing Apple emblems on the backs of laptops one sees whenever one walks into a Starbucks. It is interesting to note that in the Powerbook G3, the glowing Apple logo was right-side up when a user had it closed and facing them (closed), but was upside down from perspective of anyone facing it while open.
It is interesting to note that in the next generation of Apple laptops, all of the Apple logos were oriented so that those facing the user could see the logo. This is interesting because Apple is indicating that it is more important for others to see the Apple logo oriented correctly (as one rarely looks at the back of the laptop when it is open) than for users to see it "right-side-up" while it is closed. Apple is banking on the fact that its users want to show off their equipment, and want others to know that their computer is an Apple.