Rob Janoff is an American

graphic designer A graphic designer is a practitioner who follows the discipline of graphic design, either within companies or organizations or independently. They are professionals in design and visual communication, with their primary focus on transforming ...

known for his work in corporate branding, advertising, and television commercials. He gained recognition for designing the iconic

Apple logo The marketing of Apple Inc. encompasses the Apple Inc. advertising, company's advertising, distribution, and branding. After Steve Jobs returned to Apple in 1997, he made industrial design a key element of the company's branding strategy. Apple's p ...

in 1977. Janoff has contributed to design projects for

IBM International Business Machines Corporation (using the trademark IBM), nicknamed Big Blue, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational technology company headquartered in Armonk, New York, and present in over 175 countries. It is ...

and

Intel Intel Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Santa Clara, California, and Delaware General Corporation Law, incorporated in Delaware. Intel designs, manufactures, and sells computer compo ...

Early life

Janoff was born and raised in

Culver City Culver City is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 40,779. It is mostly surrounded by Los Angeles, but also shares a border with the unincorporated area of Ladera Heights to the ea ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. He obtained his degree from

San Jose State University San José State University (San Jose State or SJSU) is a Public university, public research university in San Jose, California. Established in 1857, SJSU is the List of oldest schools in California, oldest public university on the West Coast of ...

, where he initially majored in industrial design. Later, he shifted his focus on

graphic design Graphic design is a profession, academic discipline and applied art that involves creating visual communications intended to transmit specific messages to social groups, with specific objectives. Graphic design is an interdisciplinary branch of ...

Career

In 1970, Janoff began working for several small

Silicon Valley Silicon Valley is a region in Northern California that is a global center for high technology and innovation. Located in the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area, it corresponds roughly to the geographical area of the Santa Clara Valley ...

agencies. In 1977, he joined Regis McKenna located in

Palo Alto, California Palo Alto ( ; Spanish language, Spanish for ) is a charter city in northwestern Santa Clara County, California, United States, in the San Francisco Bay Area, named after a Sequoia sempervirens, coastal redwood tree known as El Palo Alto. Th ...

. While working in this position, he was chosen to design the corporate identity package of the

Apple Computer Apple Inc. is an American multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, in Silicon Valley. It is best known for its consumer electronics, software, and services. Founded in 1976 as Apple Computer Co ...

for

Steve Jobs Steven Paul Jobs (February 24, 1955 – October 5, 2011) was an American businessman, inventor, and investor best known for co-founding the technology company Apple Inc. Jobs was also the founder of NeXT and chairman and majority shareholder o ...

, the only direction given to him being, "don't make it cute". What he submitted was an apple with a bite out of it. The bite was included so that people did not mistake the apple for a cherry or another fruit. The logo's colorful stripes represented the fact that Apple computers featured color screens. Each stripe was printed in its own specially mixed color, which Jobs approved because he felt that vivid colors improved people's emotional response. Rob also created ads and printed materials for Apple. The basic design of his Apple logo is still in use by the company today, but it has had many elements changed along the way. Janoff later worked for agencies established in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

and

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

such as Chiat/Day where he designed print, TV advertising and branding for numerous national and international clients. Over the past six years, he has established a digital agency with his Australian business partner, Joel Bohm. In 2019, Rob published his book ''Taking a Bite out of the Apple: A Graphic Designer's Tale'', a nonfiction memoir aimed at young adults. As of 2024, Rob resides in Chicago, but he travels as part of his work creating branding outcomes for companies across a range of industries. He is also a speaker who has delivered keynote addresses and classes in design for universities and academic facilities, including the

Eastern Mediterranean University The Eastern Mediterranean University (EMU; ) is a public university in Northern Cyprus, was established in 1979, led by Onay Fadıl Demirciler, who was then the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Education. Initially founded as a technology-focus ...

in Cyprus.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Janoff, Rob Logo designers Living people People from Culver City, California Year of birth missing (living people) San Jose State University alumni