THE APPLE PROJECT

The Logo 

The Herefordshire Council Logo

The logo for Herefordshire Council is an apple, a green apple.

Why is the cider industry important to Herefordshire?

Cider is an alcoholic drink made from specially grown varieties of apples. During the second half of the 19^th century it is estimated that there were over 30,000 acres of apple and pear orchards in Herefordshire. Most of these apples were grown for the cider industry and the pears were pressed to make a drink called Perry. Many farmers produced their own cider, mainly as a drink for their agricultural workers, but also to be sold to local pubs or even from their own kitchens. During the late 19^th century entrepreneurs started up cider factories, which produced larger amounts of cider more efficiently.

The railways made it possible for the increased amount of cider produced to be sold in other parts of Britain. Many cider producers were bought out by Bulmers at different times during the 20^th century, making H.P. Bulmer now the largest cider producing company in the world. There are several other large and small scale producers in the county employing many people in a variety of jobs. Today about 132 million gallons of cider are drunk in Britain every year and over 63 million gallons are produced in Herefordshire.

To find out more about the history of cider production from the viewpoint of people involved in the industry in Herefordshire read the section: Factory Cider in Herefordshire, which you can access from the Home Page of Apples and Pears Past.

The apple as a symbol:

Sometimes objects are symbolic for ideas, for example, a red heart is a symbol for love. In the Adam and Eve story in the biblical book of Genesis, Eve takes a fruit  from the tree of knowledge against God‘s wishes. In the Bible it only says “fruit”, but most people associate the story with an apple. In this case the apple has come to symbolise forbidden knowledge. Many famous artists have painted the scene of Adam and Eve in paradise taking an apple.

Other well-known uses of the apple symbol:

Eating apples is also good for your health and they taste good. Therefore apples can be seen as symbolic of health, as in the old saying, “An apple a day, keeps the doctor away”.

Two famous stories from the past involve an apple: the story of the Swiss folk hero Wilhelm Tell, who was made to shoot an apple off the head of his son at great distance with his cross bow (where the apple symbolises freedom), and the story of how Newton supposedly discovered the force of gravity: He was sitting under a tree when an apple fell on his head.

Current uses of the apple logo:

The City of New York is often called, The Big Apple. There are a variety of stories circulating about the origin of this phrase. You may wish to research this on the Internet.

1.      The Apple Computer is a well known product which uses an apple logo. Interestingly, an early Apple Computer logo showed Newton sitting under a tree being hit on the head with an apple. This quite complex drawing has been replaced by a much simpler, stylised drawing of an apple with a neat bite taken out of it . Even this has undergone further development from an apple made up of coloured stripes it to a monochrome apple. (the word monochrome comes from the Greek and means in only one colour)

Sometimes groups of clubs or organisations will join together for promotional or advertising purposes. In this case Rugby Union Clubs banded together to create an overall logo for their sponsor, Magners,  a cider company. If you look carefully you can see the Magners name in the background of the club badges.

If you want to research the origin of the Apple Computer logo further, go to the Wikepedia website online and if you wish to read an article about the use of the apple logo in business go to the website: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/4765067.stm

Design your own apple or pear logo

A 1960s label showing apples in a pattern	This is a design from the 1950s. The apple and pear have been personified (given human features).	A more recent label, aiming to be simple and stylish

 You will need:

Paper, pencil, rubber, good ideas, lots of patience, coloured pencils or watercolours, acrylic paints or pastels if you wish to do a polychrome (multi coloured) logo.

Alternative: If you have access to a drawing programme, you may want to design your logo on a computer.

Write an explanation of the kind of product you have chosen and why you think the apple or pear logo is suitable. Also explain why you have chosen your design or colours (if applicable).

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