Technical business, accessible signs: How to make your startup relatable

Good custom logo decals can help take an abstract idea and make it easier for consumers to understand. This is true for the tech industry, where some of the most successful businesses have been those that turn a complicated service or product into an image that consumers can remember.

Look at Twitter, a popular social networking platform with a concept that's hard to visualize. Nowadays, we all know the familiar bluebird icon that symbolizes the brand. But the New York Times recently reported on Twitter's original logo, designed by Simon Oxley for the stock photo website iStock.

The Times features a short timeline of the different Twitter logos used since 2006 to help put its evolution into perspective. That first bird doesn't look too much like the one most Tweeters are likely to know. It's thin, at rest and facing the wrong direction.

However, it set the tone for all of the birds to follow it, and the color has been altered only slightly, becoming lighter in 2010 before darkening a bit to form the current design two years later. This version, created by Doug Bowman, has subtle but important differences, like broader wings and a beak pointing diagonally upward to the right, suggesting movement.

Business Insider also featured a look into Twitter's past recently, as part of a story that centered on the old design of popular websites. In 2006, the homepage of Twitter was relatively blank and stripped-down, and the only logo was the company name. These days, it's a dynamic, colorful space, with that little bird in the corner.

Once you've established yourself in the digital space, your tech company will still need to make an impression in the real world, whether it's in your office, a brick-and-mortar store or at trade show appearances. Create vinyl signs and other pieces to make this a reality.