It's 2014 and the tech industry is booming. Global giants like Alibaba, Google, Apple, Microsoft and Facebook are amongst some of the largest companies in the world, now employing over 300,000 people combined. But looking back 100 years to 1914, non one knew what a Tweet, gigabyte, email, Emoji, LOL, FML or even the Internet was.

Putting things into perspective, in 1914, Silicon Valley was just a mass of orchards and farmland (see image below), nothing like what it is today.

As a tech startup, we thought it would be fun to see what the logos of today's tech giants would look like if they existed 100 years ago in 1914. With this as the brief, DesignCrowd's community of over 400,000 designers got to work — here are some of the best submissions:

Twitter

@MarkoPor: Amptmann Script font and Ballroom Blue color.

Techcrunch

@MarkoPor: Inspired by wires and connections. Colors sourced from a color card from 1912.Font used - RivannaNF.

Buzzfeed

@Cornell888: The font is Hominis, used it as it looks like a lino cut font with lines depicting movement, moving forward. The bee, symbolising movement is a literal interpretation of the company name and a common technique used for products back in 1914.

Apple

@Cornell888: Using Deneane font to symbolise strength, class, and difference in relation to Apples 1980's advertising.

Facebook aka The Facebook

@Greedin: The Facebook logo could've looked like this in 1914. Facebook would be a secret society for a limited circle of people. Sort of a social network for chosen personas at the dawn of the century. That's why the logo is made in this specific style. Also, back then it would have been called "The Facebook". Color: Black. Font: Waschkueche

Google

@MarkoPor: 1914's Google logo. I've used the Amptmann Script font and colors from a colour card from 1912. The network of curved lines represents the internet.

DesignCrowd

@MarkoPor: 1914's DesignCrowd logo. I've used the DS Walbaumfraktur font and Delft Blue color from Victorian Era.

Skype

@CDG: 1914 Skype logo designed by Carlo Villamin. CDG Design Agency, Philippines.

IBM aka International Business Machines

Greedin: IBM logo representation with their original full "International Business Machines" name. This design is stylistically placed somewhere on the edge between Art Nouveau and Art Deco, which totally seems like 1914. The typefaces used are Smythe, Waschkueche and Fairfax Station. Colors are: Beige (Pantone 7499 C), Orange (Pantone 166 C) and Brown (Pantone 462 C).

Microsoft

@Stevenphillips23:Art Nouveau inspired, this design adapts the famous 4-squared window and has turned it into a stain-glass floral pattern, common in Art Nouveau architecture from the late 1890's -1920's.

Color: I opted for slightly different colours that fit within the Art Nouveau style. The colours are: R:151 G:30 B:19 (deep red of the flowers) R:13 G:106 B:15 (rich green of the stems) R:4 G:118 B:90 (more of a teal colour for stems) R:255 G:255 B:32 (bright yellow for flowers). Typeface: "Art Nouveau Caps" from 1001fonts, but I have manipulated the type to have a curve top and bottom to re-create the look from many Art Nouveau posters.

View more of the top designs from the 1914 company logo contest here.

We hope you enjoyed this 'back to the future' showcase of tech company logos. We think our designers, noteably Marko Por, Greedin, Cornel888, did a brilliant job interpreting the design brief. Let us know which was your favorite 1914 tech company logo in the comments below!

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Written by Jo Sabin on Tuesday, November 11, 2014

Jo Sabin is Head of Designer Community at DesignCrowd. She's led the company's public relations and social media programs since 2012. With more than ten years' experience working with Australian and international tech startups in the creative industries, Jo has been instrumental in meeting DesignCrowd's objectives in Australia and abroad. Get in touch via Twitter.