How 12 Famous Logos Have Evolved Over Time [INFOGRAPHIC]

"Nothing wrong with a good logo," someone probably once said. It'd be hard to prove that hypothetical person wrong, especially when five-year-olds appear fully capable of identifying and interpreting them.

And although there's no one rule to finding the right look, the general trend is firmly toward simplicity.

At least, that seems to be Stocklogos.com Ivan Raszl's point in his graphics depicting the evolution of iconic logos and his guesses for where they're going -- the Starbucks logo devolving into a green circle by 2041, IBM a blue block, and Apple an indiscriminate red crescent.

Levity aside, Raszl may be on to something. As design critic Steven Heller argues, "logos should be simple. They should not require a great deal of interpretation." And of course, Raszl's prediction for the Microsoft logo of 2020 is already reminscent of the new logo announced for the company's Windows 8 operating system: A simple square with a cross meant to represent window panes.

Check out how far these iconic corporate logos have come -- and where they could go:

Gap

Starbucks

Apple

IBM

Xerox

Microsoft

LG

Volkswagen

Google

Nokia

Firefox

Motorola

Comments

[jonny dipstick]

09:41 AM on 08/29/2012

I like how apple becomes the muslim logo.

[ChrisHuriwai]

02:26 AM on 03/06/2012

I like it, simple is good.

[George Garros]

12:34 AM on 02/23/2012

Why is everything in the future so minimalist? Because of global warming there's a global shift in human sentiment on excess material goods?

[uunkoke]

01:04 PM on 02/22/2012

(Continued from previous)
*VW is also an interesting history lesson. The future icon is pretty absurd, and probably the most lazy joke here... however, if one were to speculate the real future of the auto industry moving toward electric vehicles, the future logo could be interpreted as an electric wave. Would be better if it were green, but Starbucks already trademarked that color... :-)
*Google would be wise to consider this logo progression. a logo that doubles to explain what the company does is rare genius.
*Sadly, Nokia is a dying brand. If they don't do something quick, they are on the road of Kodak
*Firefox is (imho) the funniest and most subtle joke: In 2012, the earth is hit by an asteroid, leaving the search engine that rose from the ashes to overlay only a dark void
*Motorola's logo progression is also pretty clever; in 2011 Google acquired Motorola (Motorola Mobility, actually). The future imaginations are just making fun of the company's likely relegation to be a comic pitchman for the big man (Google).

[uunkoke]

01:03 PM on 02/22/2012

Hi all. Based on the tone of the comments, perhaps if this article had been placed under HuffPost Comedy instead of HuffPost Business, more people would have recognized this to be tongue in cheek.

For those who haven't "gotten it" yet (and I confess to not understanding all of these...):
*Gap tried a logo change in 2011 that was instantly panned by TwitterMobs, and just as quickly reverted back to the original logo. Now Gap is in the business news for trying to sell itself as "do no wrong," which will backfire again, hence the two 2012 logos
*Starbucks, Apple, IBM, Xerox, and Microsoft are all observations of the same trend where logos become icons, and where the said companies try to trademark anything they've used as marketing, the natural progression ultimately arriving where these giants will attempt at owning the rights to use primary colors (well Green isn't primary, I know) and basic shapes. Microsoft is, as others have mentioned, ahead of the game here.
*I think LG is more of a history lesson of where this company started as a face cream company growing into an major appliance manufacturer. Perhaps the future statement is that they are pretty pleased with themselves (as they should be)
(continued in next)

[Margar02]

11:36 AM on 02/22/2012

Why does Motorola somehow morph into M&M's at the end? Also, Some of these businesses I doubt will even still exist in 2054...

[Springy]

11:15 AM on 02/22/2012

Great so the apple will begin to look like the muslim symbol: a red crescent? And FYI: I love my iMAC. And the lack of viruses is the main reason I bought it.

[jrev2020]

01:30 AM on 02/23/2012

Funny how Apple fanboys have the need to put a plug Apple in sentence. They know their computer is not even half as good as their neighbors PC nor can it use over 90% of all the software in the market but still they most wait their 1/2 hour to get online and post how they love their slow iMac. What a joke.

[Nick Hansen]

10:32 PM on 04/10/2012

you're saying Apple fanboys 'have the need to put a plug Apple in sentence'. just going over this page's comments, you have gone to three posts complaining about Apple. I dare say, funny how PC users feel so insecure that they have the need to put a plug anit-Apple in sentence.

[ChrisHuriwai]

02:26 AM on 03/06/2012

Not a Muslim Crescent...more like a minimalist apple with a bite taken out of it...

[Drew Ohhconnor]

10:45 AM on 02/22/2012

you guys need a better graphic designer. squares and circles don't make great logos.

[joebaggadonuts]

06:47 AM on 02/22/2012

I think the pacman logo is more suited to Google: http://www.slashgear.com/safari-user-sues-google-over-browser-privacy-22214724/

[kenhtanaka]

11:42 AM on 02/22/2012

Pacman is really more suited to be the mascot of a pharmaceutical company...

[jrev2020]

04:54 AM on 02/22/2012

Yawn x 2

[Charismatron]

11:19 PM on 02/21/2012

Yawn.

[DeeBarkley]

10:03 PM on 02/21/2012

I choose to believe these are lame attempts at humour. The Motorola one is kind of funny though.

[sf101391]

09:40 PM on 02/21/2012

i dont know how apple went from a apple to a circle

[E V]

10:51 PM on 02/21/2012

It's not a circle! It's pac-man.

[jrev2020]

05:27 AM on 02/22/2012

Yeah, pac-man since Apple gobbles your money up and you just wind up spending more and more on their crap products.

[BeachWar]

10:34 AM on 02/22/2012

Pac-Man is yellow with a triangular mouth.

[Masooma AliKhan]

09:01 PM on 02/21/2012

Really nice, inventive ideas for the future. Hmmmm... might be looking forward to it.

[jrev2020]

05:27 AM on 02/22/2012

It was just a joke.

[Masooma AliKhan]

08:52 PM on 02/21/2012

i say, apple is very simple. i especially love the way google is now, it is very classic and what we are used to.