THE MEANING AND ORIGIN OF THE APPLE COMMAND KEY SYMBOL (⌘)
August 1, 2020
The meaning and origin of the Apple Command key, ⌘, or Apple key, is a modifier key which purpose is to allow the user to enter keyboard commands in system.
… Steve Jobs initiated the turnaround, but is not responsible for the ⌘ on your keyboard now. We owe the command symbol to Susan kare. She was one of the first within Apple to design icons. She designed the pixelated trash can, the floppy icon, the smiling Mac and more.
The origin of the Apple command key
All these Susan Kare icons have now been replaced by modern versions, except for the command character. The decision to put the ⌘ on the keyboard has been upheld. Yet this is not one of Susan’s many designs. The symbol already existed and can mainly be found in Scandinavian countries.
Susan Kare came across the ⌘ symbol in a database and decided to introduce it as the character of the command key. Her idea was approved and that’s why the ⌘ is still on your keyboard. Remarkable, because until then the symbol had a completely different meaning.
The meaning of the ⌘ symbol
This sign was mainly found along the road in Scandinavian countries. Finland started doing so in 1950 and then neighboring countries such as Sweden took over. When you came across this sign, you knew there was a landmark or campground nearby.
The most common theory is that the sign must represent a castle or fortress. Although some say it is a four-leaf clover or a cloverleaf (highway junction). So we cannot say with certainty the origin. What we do know is that Susan Kare did not discover the symbol while on vacation. This is sometimes claimed, but as we mentioned earlier, Susan just came across the ⌘ in a database of symbols.
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