When you think of apple, probably one of the first things you think of is their wonderful product design. The iPhone, Macbook Pro and iPod are all beautiful products to say the least. Heck, even their website is pretty beautiful, but has Apple always been a connoisseur in the field of Product Design?
Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak formed Apple Computers in 1976, starting a whole new brand which has went on to affect our digital lives profoundly, with iPods and Macbooks, they changed how things were made and more importantly (in recent years) how things are designed. In recent years Apple has reached nearly pop culture status with it’s iPod and computers.
However, Apple hasn’t always been a master of product creation, and a lot of Apple’s early stuff really didn’t concentrate on designing products, but rather how they looked. In fact, when creating the Apple I, design definitely wasn’t the first thing on Steve Wozniak’s mind.
The progression from Apple I to Apple III, showing how Apple changed the design as the company became more prosperous.
Of course, Apple wasn’t only thinking about the design of its products after the Apple III, but more along the lines of how computers would work in the future. In 1983 Apple released the Apple Lisa, introducing a GUI interface with things like a desktop, a mouse and icons. Apple continued its adventures in the realm of design, but it wasn’t really until 1997 or 1998 when Apple started churning out products with real design value.
From 1998 onwards Steve Job returned to Apple after having left in 1986. More importantly though (for design anyway), in 1997 Apple hired Jonathan Ive as the head of the Apple Industrial Design Group. Ive has went on to be the creator of product designs like the ubiquitous iPod and the unibody Macbook Pro.
See further down the page for an evolution on Apple’s design process.
From 1997 to 2000 Apple was trying to get back on its feet, and even made a deal with Microsoft to get Office on Macs. In 1998 Apple introduced the iMac and the the following year the Power Mac G4.
2001 was a huge year for Apple in a way, as they introduced the iPod, Mac OS X and the Apple Retail Store. All of these things have gone on to be huge. In 2003 Apple released the Power Mac G5. Subsequently in 2004 the iMac G5 was released, based on the Power Mac G5’s technology.
In 2005 Apple changed to Intel processors. The following year the first products implementing Intel chips were released, including the iMac and Macbook Pro. In 2007 Apple Computers changed its name to simple “Apple”, and announced the iPhone. To coincide with the iPhone, the iPod Touch was released.
Apple continues to update their main product to improve them, including the iPod, Macbook Pro, iPhone, and the iPod Touch. Also they released the iPad in 2010 (with no Flash support).
This timeline provides key products which show the evolution of Apple’s Design in recent times (when most design ‘revolutions’ happened).
Over time Apple has converged the design of their products. From the original iPod, iMac and Powerbook vary a lot in their designs. As time progresses the product line’s design process has merged, concentrating on minimalism in order to provide their users with the most usable and attractive experience.
The design process of Apple’s products have certainly changed a lot over the years; in the earlier years of Apple Computers design was probably one of the last things on their minds when creating their products. However nowadays Apple has got a sort of reputation for beautiful products, and they’re determined to fulfill that reputation.
On top of that, as time has progressed technology has got a lot better, and this gives Apple more design opportunities. This has allowed them to create thinner products that look awesome.
Apple has succeeded in turning their company into a brand, with products that have unified design principles. Compare Apple to Microsoft: Microsoft isn’t a brand, it’s just a company that creates software for other companies to use. Apple on the other hand doesn’t allow other companies to use their software. This has allowed them to create a design that is instantly recognizable, and the black/silver modern look that Apple’s products have has became their sort of trademark colors, showing modernity and class.
Further proof that Apple is a brand comes from the fact that their website and logo match their product designs, and have changed to match them in recent times. I think that Apple is a brilliant example of how people will buy a product because of how it looks and how it’s branded. People will keep buying Apple products because, well, they’re Apple products, and generally they look amazing.
The Apple design has pushed the boundaries of how things are designed. The iPhone has been praised over other handhelds because of its UI and product design, and most smart phones are compared to the iPhone when released. Hopefully in the future they’ll continue to break into new design concepts, and improve gadgetry by both providing competition for everyone else, and giving us their own products to use.
Comments
And what about the original Macintosh? It was completely different for 1984 — an all-in-one CPU/Monitor with a GUI. (Compaq beat Apple to the punch for a all-in-one design with the Compaq Portable in 1982, but it ran DOS).
I believe that the original Mac was the forebearer of Apple design today. Different and stylis (if not always better — reference the melting Mac Plus computers because Steve Jobs wouldn’t put a fan in it).
True, the original Mac did have an iconic design, however I think the progression from the original iMac to the one we have today is a much more memorable transition.
Very informative post. Thank you verymuch for the effort :-)