When you think about the 1970s, a lot comes to mind! The 70s was full of unique fashion trends such as bell-bottom pants and voluminous hair. It was a great time for rock and roll, with some of the industry’s finest bands at the peak of their glory.
Some of the world’s most well-known brands also created unique logos in the 1970s. The first lollipop company also started supplying lollipops to many different parts of the world.
It was a great era for fashion and fashion stores as well as great television.
Let’s take a look at the top 15 symbols of the 1970s below:
Table of Contents
1. Apple Logo
Image Courtesy: flickr
The first apple logo was designed by Ronald Wayne in 1976. This logo showed Isaac Newton sitting under a tree with an apple dangling over his head. This logo lasted for one year, after which Steve Jobs tasked another graphic designer Rob Janoff to come up with something a little more modern.
Jenoff came up with the apple bitten into. The purpose behind showing the bite was to show it’s an apple, not a tomato. It was also a play on words between ‘bite’ and ‘byte,’ referring to the computer company. [1]
2. HBO Logo
WarnerMedia, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
HBO was first released in 1975 as the first satellite TV channel. Betty Brugger, the Life-Time art director, designed the HBO logo to the iconic three-letter logo. The ‘O’ of the logo has another circle inside it, hinting at a TV remote control. This was a clever twist designed by Brugger in the logo. [2]
3. Polaroid
Frank Murmann, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Polaroid reached the peak of its popularity in the mid-1970s after colored polaroids were released in 1972. The Polaroid logo consisted of ‘Polaroid’ spelled out in closely spaced letters with a square multi-colored emblem on the left of the logo.
The squared emblem had multi-colored horizontal stripes. The colors of the stripes were red, orange, yellow, green, and blue.
The colorful emblem displayed the rainbow color palette. This was a reference to the color spectrum of colored Polaroids. It also hinted at the multitude of possibilities the brand was capable of. [3]
4. Kodak Logo
Image Courtesy: flickr
The Kodak logo changed significantly in the 1970s. The older triangular shape of the logo was eliminated completely, and it was replaced by a square shape. Shapes are an important part of the logo that displays the brand’s message.
The square logo was known as the box shape and is used to this day. The concept behind the box shape was to relate feelings of honesty, transparency, and stability by the brand to its consumer. This made sense as in the 1970s, Kodak was a well-known name in the photography industry.
Specifically, the Kodak logo was a small red-colored square with a yellow boundary. An arrow was carved out vertically near the edge of the square to give it a stylish touch. This also formed the letter ‘K,’ which also stood as a business symbol for the company. [4]
5. Woodstock Logo
Chic Chicas, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
The Woodstock logo was one of the top symbols of the 1970s. The 70s remains incomplete without Woodstock. Arnold Skolnick designed the Woodstock logo and poster in only 4 days.
Most logos and posters of the era were psychedelic and busy designs. Skolnick wanted to create a simple logo that conveyed the message without complication. Skolnick believed a logo is supposed to be simple so that you get it instantly as soon as you see it. [5]
6. Nintendo
Nintendo, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
The Nintendo logo has gone through many changes. Since the 1960s, this logo has consistently remained a wordmark. In 1968, the Nintendo wordmark was in a hexagonal frame. In 1979 this was changed to a rounded frame.
This changed the geometry of the logo, adding more elegance to it, lightening its entire composition. The narrowly rounded frame balanced the squareness of the letters of the wordmark. The color palette remained the same as earlier. [6]
7. Tang
Image Courtesy: flickr
Tang was another top symbol of the 1970s. The orange juice substitute was marketed heavily in the 70s, and anyone living through that time would recall it. The Tang logo consisted of many elements of traditional 70s logos.
It had descended lettering, which was very popular at the time. It also had drop shadows and chubby loops in its letterings.
8. Chupa Chups
Aqunamag, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Chupa Chups lollipops have been there since the 1950s. Chupa Chups was the first lollipop company founded by Enric Bernat. His idea was for the youth to have fun with this brand and to create happiness.
Chupa Chups first appeared in Japan in the 1970s. From there, it started spreading to Southeast Asia, Australia, the Philippines, Singapore as well as Malaysia. It finally entered the European and North American markets in the 1980s.
In the 2000s, almost 4 billion Chupa Chups lollipops were being sold in 150 different countries around the world. The global production of Chupa Chups started in the 1970s after entering the Japanese market. [7]
9. Star Wars
Altan Dilan, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
The Star Wars franchise, released in the 70s, became a hugely popular film that developed into a popular culture phenomenon worldwide. Star Wars’ first ever logo design was created in the 1970s. The logo was bold, angular, and yellow in color.
It was a typical 1970s style logo. Soon the Star Wars franchise began expanding. Films, video games, and novels were all created revolving around the Star Wars theme. The first Star Wars episode was released on 25th May 1977, achieving both critical and financial success.
10. Rolling Stones
.jpg){kind=link}
.jpg){kind=link}
The Rolling Stones are one of the top symbols of the 1970s. The Rolling Stones are an English Rock and Roll band originally formed in 1962 in London. The Rolling Stone’s reached the pinnacle of their fame in the 1970s.
Their reputation was untouchable, earning the band the reputation, ‘the greatest Rock’ n’ Roll band in the world.’ This was the time when they created classic albums such as Goats Head Soup, Sticky Fingers, and Exile on Main St.
The Rolling Stones super hit tracks gave the band the all-time favorite reputation. They also shaped the future of rock n roll in this decade. Today the Rolling Stones are remembered alongside other legendary musical groups of the time, such as Led Zeppelin and The Beatles. [8]
11. Good Year Logo
Mark Turnauckas from Akron, Ohio, USA, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
.jpg){kind=link}
The Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company came up with its first colorful logo in the 1970s. The blue and yellow logo had a weighted front and a symbol between the text. This popular logo created an intriguing sign it combined both hard lines with soft, round edges.
It struck an attractive balance at first glance. The logo added to the company’s popularity and success. In the 1970s, the company had topped the $5 billion sales mark and was operating in thirty-four different countries.
12. The Love Boat
Christopher Michel, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
.jpg){kind=link}
The Love Boat was a popular American romantic TV series in the 1970s. Launched in 1977, the Love Boat continued well into the 1980s. The story revolved around a luxury cruise ship, its captain, and its passengers.
This popular TV series was partly inspired by the German cruise ship MV Aurora. [9] The Love Boat was an extremely successful TV show and received great ratings. In the 1970s, it ranked in the top 10 and 20 TV shows.
13. Logan’s Run
Logan’s Run was an extremely famous American science fiction TV series. Logan’s Run started on CBS in 1977 and continued till 1978. The Logan’s Run TV series was actually a spin-off of a movie released in 1976 with the same name.
Even though the Logan’s Run TV show was hugely popular, it just lasted 14 episodes before it got canceled.
14. Space Invaders
Jordiferrer, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Space Invaders was an arcade game developed in the 1970s. It was designed by Tomohiro Nishikado. It was manufactured and distributed by Taito within Japan.
This game was the first of its kind. It belonged in the Shoot ’em up genre. The main goal of the game was to defeat aliens descending with a laser that moved horizontally. Space Invaders became an immediate success commercially.
It became one of the best selling video games and grossed in billions. It is also considered one of the most influential games of its time.
15. Biba
No machine-readable author provided. Thomas Blomberg assumed (based on copyright claims)., CC BY-SA 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons
Biba was a department store based in the United Kingdom. Biba was extremely popular in the 1960s and 1970s. The fastest way Biba could reach its customers was through print ads in the 70s and so experimented with their logo.
They created an elaborate gold logo with an ornate emblem and a unique font. Biba was started and operated by Barbara Hulanicki and her spouse Stephen Fitz-Simon. Hulanicki had studied at Brighton Art College and had initially worked as a fashion illustrator.
Later she married Stephen, who was an advertising executive, and they both opened mail-order clothes companies. This was called Biba’s Postal Boutique. The couple had decided to name their clothing store Biba after the nickname of Barbara’s younger sister, Biruta. [10]
References
- http://www.edibleapple.com/2009/04/20/the-evolution-and-history-of-the-apple-logo/
- https://looka.com/blog/70s-logos/
- https://1000logos.net/polaroid-logo/
- https://www.designhill.com/design-blog/history-of-evolution-of-the-kodak-logo/
- https://looka.com/blog/70s-logos/
- https://1000logos.net/nintendo-logo/
- https://junkfoodblog.com/chupa-chups
- https://www.udiscovermusic.com/stories/best-rolling-stones-70s-songs
- San Francisco Chronicle (2020). “SHIPWRECKED ON LITTLE POTATO SLOUGH”.
- Marsh, June (2012). History of Fashion. Vivays Publishing. pp. 100, 104, 118