Since the death of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs on Wednesday, Oct. 5, the most notable names in Hollywood and Silicon Valley have honored the iconic visionary. Perhaps one of the most popular tributes, however, comes from a graphic design student in Hong Kong.
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19-year-old Jonathan Mak Long created a black and white homage to Jobs in the form of an Apple logo, featuring the former CEO’s face in place of the bite mark. The design was initially created in August, following Jobs’ surprising departure from the company he helped build, but sparked a frenzy on the web after his death.
“I wanted to commemorate him. He’s such an integral part of Apple. I thought it would be fitting to include him in the Apple logo,” Long told Yahoo! via Skype. “With Jobs gone, Apple is literally missing a piece.”
Yahoo! notes that after Long re-posted the image to his Tumblr account on Wednesday, the image immediately earned 10,000 likes and reblogs, climbing to 180,000 in just one day.
“He had this vision that he was not afraid to commit to. That’s how he broke new ground. His commitment and belief in himself is what inspires me,” Long added.
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While the logo has caught the eye of countless social media users — including Ashton Kutcher, who made the image his personal Twitter photo — current Apple CEO Tim Cook has yet to respond an e-mail from Long.
As for his own brand loyalty to Apple, Long admits that he got his first MacBook Pro just one year ago and is not an iPhone user.
