Modified Apple logo honors Steve Jobs; design goes viral

The memorials, reminiscences, and accolades for the late, great tech giant Steve Jobs will continue for --- who knows how long --- but one person's tribute, in the form of a slight modification of the Apple logo, has already become a smash Internet hit.

The design comes from someone studying, appropriately enough, at Hong Kong's Polytechnic University School of Design. Nineteen-year-old Jonathan Mak took the already iconic Apple logo, which has a bite taken out of it, and modified it so the bite is Steve Jobs' silhouette instead.

The image has already gone viral, and it's earned Mak not just kudos across the world, it's also earned him a job offer.

Mak first created the design in August, as evidenced by the date on his post, August 26, 2011. Steve Jobs resigned as Apple CEO on August 25. Mak then reposted the image after Steve Jobs' death.

The viral nature of Mak's post was surely helped by the fact that Ashton Kutcher, with nearly 8 million Twitter followers, began to use it as his Twitter profile picture. That had to help the image spread virally.

Mak told Reuters, "It's been a crazy day for me. "I'm both excited and terrified." He could be terrified that Apple might come after him. Apple is fiercely protective of its intellectual property, logos, and imagery. You might recall they even filed an opposition notice against New York over the city's GreeNYC logo.

However, we'd assume Mak would be OK; he's not using the logo for anything commercial. That doesn't necessarily apply to some folks on eBay. They're already selling T-shirts with Mak's design.

Our bet is shirt auctions, or any other auction with Mak's image on it won't last long on eBay. It won't be because Mak cries foul, most likely, but because Apple has eBay remove them.

Mak described the way he decided on his design as follows:

"Originally, I was going to put a black modified logo against a white background. It just didn't feel somber enough. I just wanted it to be a very quiet commemoration. It's just this quiet realization that Apple is now missing a piece. It's just kind of implying his absence."