Twitter's First Logo Cost Less Than $20

Twitter's logo wasn't always the plump, happy blue bird that we're all used to today.

After Twitter launched in 2006, the team bought its first logo for about $15.

It was a design by Simon Oxley, a British graphic designer living in Japan, who had submitted it to the stock photography website, iStock, according to The New York Times.

At the time, Oxley had never heard of Twitter.

Here's a screenshot of the site from back in 2007:

Twitter eventually abandoned the design in 2009, because companies aren't supposed to use iStock images as their official logos.

The company didn't settle on its current design until 2012, when it rebranded to something a little more sophisticated. Having the bird look up brought some subtle optimism to the brand:

Oxley still sells a design that's very similar to the original on iStock, though now it's only $11: