App Store Logo

App Store Logo PNG

The App Store logo is a unity of disparate parts and elements. The symbol is like a structure from which you can get the necessary part at any time. The emblem shows that the client will receive everything he needs; it is enough to use the catalog correctly.

Meaning and History

The online store icons have changed several times, although these changes cannot be called global. Rather, it was a small tweak to improve the existing design. The style was simplified to minimalistic: first, the bright reflections disappeared, then the white circle disappeared, and the main elements became abstract.

What is App Store?

App Store is a virtual store of mobile applications for gadgets operating on the IOS and iPadOS operating systems. The Internet platform allows users to view, select and download various programs for iPad, iPod Touch, iPhone, Apple Watch, Apple TV. The service appeared in 2008 and is owned by Apple Inc.

iOS

The second most common mobile platform was released in 2017 and was immediately focused on Apple Inc. equipment. For the first years, it was called iPhone OS, but then it was renamed to iOS as the range of digital devices compatible with it expanded. To unify the visual identity of the programs, the developer company used approximately the same design for them. The logo style of this application is also consistent with the overall design and is based on three crossed elements in the shape of the letter “A.” The emblem has changed twice, but none of its variants has a name.

2008 – 2013

The first App Store logo was the most striking of all. It appeared after the release of the iPhone OS 2 and was used until the iOS version 6 platform was developed. The drawing contained a large blue square with rounded corners, containing a pencil, brush, and ruler in a ring. Behind the white stationery, beams radiated in all directions – from the center of the geometric shape to the edges. They enhanced the 3D effect of the gradient.

2013 – 2017

After the redesign, the rays disappeared, and the blue became lighter. The gradient position has also changed, with a darker tint at the bottom and cyan at the top. This logo could be found on devices with iOS 7 and 10 versions.

2017 – today

In 2017, the era of abstraction began: the Apple Store logo lost some of its elements and began to look much more minimalistic. In place of the stationery, three lines appeared, forming a disproportionate triangle. They resemble ice cream sticks in shape. The white ring has disappeared, and the intensity of the gradient has decreased.

macOS

Apple Inc. launched the macOS platform in 2001, and it has now become the second most popular operating system for desktops and laptops. Appearing in the spring, it received its first update a few months later, and since then, almost every key version has changed the logo. The operating system has gone through several rebrandings. So, it was initially called Mac OS X; in 2012, the developer company shortened its name to OS X, and in 2016 changed it to macOS. This was done to unify the computer platform with other Apple products – tvOS, watchOS, and iOS. Interestingly, none of the logo options contain the name of the program.

2011 – 2013

The macOS logo was round and looked like a three-dimensional shiny medallion. In the middle, he had a construction formed from three elements: a ruler, a pencil, and a brush. They were drawn in segments – as if they were made up of squares, rectangles, semicircles, triangles, and trapezoids. Moreover, these elements were folded in the form of a hut: a wide strip was horizontal, and the other two parts were vertical. This arrangement indicated the main direction of the OS and revealed its name and tasks to users. The background was light blue. The gradient went from the center to the edges. The frame of the emblem was gray and three-dimensional, with a shadow in the top half.

2013 – 2017

After the upgrade, a two-dimensional logo appeared with elements of an improved configuration. This was due to the refinement of the correct shape of the brush and pencil. As a result, they became more like real ones. The developers made the horizontal ruler thinner and changed the background. It was dominated by aquamarine blue, and the gradient was directed from top to bottom. The gray edging brightened, and the shadows disappeared. The design clearly resembled “A” – the capital letter from the software company’s name.

2017 – 2019

In 2017, the blue color almost completely turned into aquamarine (deep blue), and the gradient became linear – it went from top to bottom with a gradual hue darkening. The top side of the frame was highlighted, making it appear white. The designers replaced the pencil, brush, and ruler with three sticks with rounded ends. They were folded in such a way that they created a semblance of a hut. Shadows passed where they crossed. In fact, this design denoted the first letter of the name of the developer company – “A.”

2019 – 2020

The logo update resulted in a complete replacement of the blue color with aquamarine in the center of the medallion. But blue appeared on the ring surrounding the three rod-shaped elements. The gradient is preserved, but now it is less noticeable. Designers muted the white color with a light grayish haze.

2020 – today

To unify its digital products, Apple removed the circle and used a square instead. And so it happened: now this geometric figure is present in the macOS logo. It has rounded corners and changed color to the 2017-2019 version, which is dominated by a linear gradient from light aquamarine (top) to dark blue (bottom). The central element of crossed sticks is made three-dimensional. The designers removed the frame.

tvOS

This is a proprietary development of Apple Inc. It is an operating platform for its digital media players and is designed for TV viewing. The product’s first launch took place in the fall of 2015, and since then, it has gone through many modifications. The last update was adopted in the summer of 2022. At the same time, the visual identity of the corporate application was improved so that it had an original designation. Over time, the Apple TV was renamed to tvOS, which gave the unification of branded products, along with macOS, watchOS, and iOS. Now they are all designed in the same style and are under the personal label of Apple Corporation – a unique “A” made up of three iconic elements.

2015 – 2017

Immediately after the program’s launch, she received a logo, like macOS 2013-2017. That is, the developer initially planned to combine their products with a common identity. The unified design gave many advantages: it was easier for users to navigate to the desired application, it was easier to search for it in a specialized store, and it was immediately recognizable among analogs from other manufacturers. As a result, the designers placed a pencil, a ruler, and a brush crossed in a certain way in a horizontal rectangle with a gradient from light blue to cobalt. The tops of the stationery didn’t touch, so they seemed to hang unnaturally in the air. In this version, the soft part of the brush has been tweaked to resemble the actual curve of the bristles.

2017 – today

In 2017, the copyright owner of digital products undertook a major redesign of their visual identity, introducing significant changes. So, on the tvOS logo, a design of three sticks with rounded ends appeared – exactly like macOS of that time. These pieces have replaced the ruler, pencil, and brush to make it easier to unify the logos. The resulting configuration resembles a hut but stands for the first letter of the name of Apple. The stripes are wide, with darkening in places of overlap. The right side of the central crossbar is wound under the right leg of the letter, and the left side, on the contrary, is located on top of the left diagonal “A.” The logo is flat and two-dimensional, located in a horizontal rectangle. The palette has been changed from a dark spectrum to a lighter one, so the predominant color in the gradient is deep blue – aquamarine.

Font and Colors

The jagged shape in the center of the square represents the “A” – the App Store name’s first letter. This makes more sense than randomly stacked brushes, rulers, and pencils, although some users only see ice cream sticks in the logo and do not understand what they mean. And all because of excessive abstraction, which interferes with perception.

There are no sharp or right angles in the icon – the sides of each shape are rounded. This is done to inspire trust in the platform and the media content presented in it. A friendly look, simple design, and three-dimensionality distinguish the App Store icon in the list of other programs.

There are no inscriptions as such on the Apple Store logo – except that the central figure is associated with the letter “A.” We are not talking about any fonts, because it consists of three separate rectangles with rounded corners.

The color scheme is not as simple as the rest of the design. It contains a whole mix of blue shades arranged sequentially and smoothly flow into one another. The gradient is linear; that is, the color transition occurs in a horizontal direction – from a light top to a darker bottom. Additional elements are painted white. To highlight them, the designers used the negative space effect.

App Store color codes