The evolution of logos
The Apple Logo, revolution. It takes you back to the original logo of Sir Isaac Newton sitting under the apple tree, and I'm sure he had no idea what the apple would become... a multi-billion dollar corporation with some of the best designs out there.
Again, another huge company, all about brand recognition. Its hard to believe that the logo has changed this much, and then gone back to something so similar to the original. The third logo is a shake my head moment, as in what were they really thinking with this, but they brought it back with the next design, and even more so with the most current. It just goes to show you that design follows trends just like everything else: if its good, it will come back into style.
And for my final example of logo evolution... IBM. This just shows a change in name and logo can work together really well. The first two are questionable on their intent, I have a hard time reading them, or getting anything out of them. I'm not sure whether is because I don't recognize the company, but I think it has a nice look with the lines and shapes, but is not effective as a logo. Working from there, the third has a cool concept, but is still hard to read in this small form. Going to the fourth, we are close to the current logo, with the simple use of typography to state the name of the company. I like both the fifth and sixth logo; they are clean and simple and recognizable, just like a logo should be.
source: www.inc.com