Apple Industrial Design Group

Last updated

The Apple Industrial Design Group is the industrial design department within Apple Inc. responsible for crafting the physical appearance of all Apple products. The group was established so that Apple could design more products in-house, rather than relying on external design firms. Steve Jobs wanted to be a part of the design process more than was practical to do when utilizing external design agencies, and the in-house design group allowed for changes to be made more efficiently - all while making it easier to maintain the secrecy of upcoming projects.

Contents

History

Apple Industrial Design was established in April 1977 when Steve Jobs hired Jerry Manock to design the Apple II housing. Jobs was obsessed with design and style, rumored to linger over appliances at Macy's for inspiration. Jobs and Manock set about establishing the design language that would be used by Apple for the first 10 years. [1]

In addition to the Apple II, Manock came to manage Apple Design Guild which consisted of a loose band of in-house designers, among them Bill Dresselhaus—responsible for the Lisa—and Rob Gemmell—responsible for the Apple IIe and IIc. It was from this group that a project called "Snow White" emerged. The importance that Jobs put on appearance led to a desire to begin the search for a "world-class" designer or design team to give Apple a unique and uniform design language. It was Manock's suggestion that it be made a contest. The company proceeded to solicit designers from the pages of magazines. [2]

Frog Design

It was out of this contest that Hartmut Esslinger and his team at frog design came to Apple and created a unique design language that took the project's code name and helped establish Apple with a serious corporate image. [3] Though Esslinger originally created a design for the Macintosh, it wasn't until the Apple IIc, designed with Rob Gemmell, that Apple would first introduce the new design language. From the introduction of the Apple II through the Macintosh Plus, Apple's products favored a beige-like color scheme of differing shades. The Apple IIc was the first to introduce a product with a lighter, creamy off-white color, known in-house as "Fog" (though Esslinger originally argued for bright white), a color that would persist in all Snow White design language products until the introduction of the Apple IIGS in late 1986, which marked a turning point in the unification of Apple products. Apple selected a warm gray color they called "Platinum" for the IIGS and all subsequent desktop computers until the introduction of the iMac in 1998. (A dark gray color was adopted for the PowerBook line of laptops and its peripherals). [4]

The original Macintosh was designed by Jerry Manock and Terry Oyama with guidance from Steve Jobs. In doing so, they unwittingly created an enduring iconic design. Though variously redressed in "Snow White" details (such as the Macintosh SE), all the way to the translucent iMac, there is a legacy imparted by the original Macintosh design. Having worked 90-hour weeks, Manock and the rest of the Mac team were exhausted, and he failed to register the Macintoshes in time for the design award consideration. Esslinger would not make the same mistake with the SE and ultimately received the recognition denied Manock, which often led to Esslinger being credited with the original design of the Macintosh, a perception Esslinger and Frog Design always corrected. However, by the end of 1985, Steve Jobs resigned from Apple and Hartmut Esslinger and his Frog Design team followed, later working with Jobs at NeXT. [5]

Reformation

By the early 1990s, Apple discovered that the Snow White language that had served them so well through the 80s was being copied by its generic IBM PC competitors, causing Apple to lose some of its unique identity. With the move away from Frog Design, Apple chose to bring all industrial design in-house by creating the Apple Industrial Design Group, headed by Robert Brunner except for portable computer devices design projects led by Kazuo Kawasaki. Though many of the new designs reflected the legacy of Esslinger's Snow White language, the new design group began to rapidly move in its direction, which can be clearly seen in landmark products of the Espresso language such as the Macintosh Color Classic. [6] The list of innovative designs which clearly defined Apple products in the marketplace continued through the 90s.

Return of Steve Jobs

The return of Steve Jobs in 1997 along with the appointment of designer Jonathan Ive (who had been working for Apple since 1992 [7] ) as senior vice president of industrial design, ushered in a new era for Apple design, drawing heavily on the design philosophy of Dieter Rams for Braun, and infusing them with vibrant color and translucent details. The launch of the iMac in 1998 also drew on some of the iconic elements of the original Macintosh, such as the all-in-one format and top-mounted handle.

The successive design language adopted by Apple can be split into two aspects: a white or black color scheme, usually with a glossy texture and plastic cases; and a bead blasted aluminum and glass look. The former was exclusively used for consumer products, such as the MacBook and iPod, while the latter was mainly used in professional products such as the MacBook Pro and Mac Pro. However, more recent revisions of the iMac, iPad, iPhone, and iPod lines have adopted the aluminum of the professional line with sleek black elements. Apple developed a unibody water-milling process to achieve sharp lines and graceful curves as well as end-to-end structural stability from their aluminum products. Both looks often use basic rectilinear forms modified with slight contours and rounded edges.

Resignation of Jonathan Ive

Jonathan Ive left Apple and started his new design office LoveFrom with Marc Newson. [8] Evans Hankey is the head of hardware design at the design group since June 2019. [9] Apple announced on October 21, 2022, that Hankey would depart the company, but she'll remain at the company for a temporary period. Apple has no Hankey's replacement.

Apple designers

DesignerDates
Bill Dresselhaus1979–1983
Terry Oyama1980–1983
Rob Gemmell1981–1989
Gavin Ivester1987-1992 (1981-1992)
Hartmut Esslinger 1982–1989
Richard Jordan1978–1990
Jim Stewart1980–1984, 1987–1994
Ray Riley1988-1995
Robert Brunner 1989–1997
Susanne Pierce Maddux1990-1996
Kazuo Kawasaki 1990–1991
Masamichi Udagawa1992–1995
Daniele De Iuliis1989–2019 [10]
Sir Jonathan Ive 1992–2019
Christopher Stringer1997–2017 [11]
Eugene Whang1999–2021
Shin Nishibori2002–2012
Rico Zorkendorfer2004–2019 [10]
Miklu Silvanto2011–2019 [10]
Julian Honig2010–2019 [10]
Marc Newson 2014–2019
Richard Howarth1996 [12] –present
Evans Hankey–2023 [13]
Shota Aoyagi–2023 [14]
Molly Anderson–present [15]

Timeline of Apple products

Timeline of Apple Inc. products
Windows 11Windows 10Windows 8Windows 7Windows VistaTim CookWindows XPSteve JobsDebianGil AmelioNeXTMichael SpindlerMicrosoft WindowsJohn SculleyIBM PCMike MarkkulaTRS-80Michael Scott (Apple)Altair 8800iWorkiLifeiTunesFinal CutFileMaker ProClarisWorksAppleShareMacPaintMacWriteAppleWorksAirPort Time CapsuleAirPort#AirPort Extreme (802.11n)iSight CameraAirPortGeoPortApple USB ModemLocalTalkApple USB ModemApple Studio DisplayPro Display XDRApple displays#LCD displaysApple displays#LCD displaysTrinitronApple displaysApple displaysApple displaysMagic Mouse 2Magic MouseApple Mighty MouseApple Wireless MouseApple Mouse#Apple USB Mouse (M4848)Apple Adjustable KeyboardApple ScannerApple Desktop BusApple MouseApple KeyboardColor LaserWriter 12/600 PSStyleWriterLaserWriterTemplate:Apple printersSuperDriveSuperDrive#Floppy disk driveAppleCDHard Disk 20SCMacintosh External Disk DriveApple ProFileDisk IIApple TVApple Bandai PippinApple Interactive Television BoxHomePod MiniHomePodApple WatchPowerCD#AppleDesign Powered SpeakersApple QuickTakeiPod TouchiPodPowerCDiPhoneiPadNewton (platform)Mac ProApple's transition to Intel processorsPower Mac G5OS XPower Mac G4iMacPower Macintosh G3Power MacintoshPowerBookMacintosh LCMacintosh SE/30Macintosh IICompact MacintoshMac StudioiMac ProMac MiniXserveiMacApple Network ServerMacintosh XLApple LisaMacBook AirMacBook ProMacBook (2006–2012)iBookiBookApple IIe CardApple IIe#The Platinum IIeApple IIc PlusApple IIGSApple IIcApple IIIApple IIeApple IIIApple II PlusApple IIApple IApple Industrial Design Group
Products on this timeline indicate introduction dates only and not necessarily discontinued dates, as new products begin on a contiguous product line.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Macintosh Plus</span> Third model of Apples Macintosh computer line

The Macintosh Plus computer is the third model in the Macintosh line, introduced on January 16, 1986, two years after the original Macintosh and a little more than a year after the Macintosh 512K, with a price tag of US$2,599. As an evolutionary improvement over the 512K, it shipped with 1 MB of RAM standard, expandable to 4 MB, and an external SCSI peripheral bus, among smaller improvements. Originally, the computer's case was the same beige color as the original Macintosh, Pantone 453; however, in 1987, the case color was changed to the long-lived, warm gray "Platinum" color. It is the earliest Macintosh model able to run System Software 5, System 6, and System 7, up to System 7.5.5, but not System 7.5.2.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Macintosh Classic</span> Personal computer by Apple Computer

The Macintosh Classic is a personal computer designed, manufactured and sold by Apple Computer from October 1990 to September 1992. It was the first Macintosh to sell for less than US$1,000.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Macintosh II</span> First model of the second generation of the Apple Macintosh computer line

The Macintosh II is a personal computer designed, manufactured, and sold by Apple Computer from March 1987 to January 1990. Based on the Motorola 68020 32-bit CPU, it is the first Macintosh supporting color graphics. When introduced, a basic system with monitor and 20 MB hard drive cost US$5,498. With a 13-inch color monitor and 8-bit display card the price was around US$7,145. This placed it in competition with workstations from Silicon Graphics, Sun Microsystems, and Hewlett-Packard.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Apple IIc</span> Fourth model in the Apple II series of computers

The Apple IIc is a personal computer that was introduced by Apple Inc. shortly after the launch of the original Macintosh. It was a compact and portable version of the Apple II series of computers. The IIc featured a built-in floppy disk drive and a keyboard, and was often sold with its matching monitor. The c in the name stood for compact, referring to the fact it was a complete Apple II computer setup with a floppy drive that was squeezed into a smaller notebook-sized housing. It was compatible with a wide range of software and peripherals.

Apple Inc. has sold a variety of LCD and CRT computer displays. Apple paused production of their own standalone displays in 2016 and partnered with LG to design displays for Macs. In June 2019, the Pro Display XDR was introduced, however it was expensive and targeted for professionals. Nearly three years later, in March 2022, the Studio Display was launched as a consumer-targeted counterpart to the professional monitor. These two are currently the only Apple-branded displays available.

A design language or design vocabulary is an overarching scheme or style that guides the design of a complement of products or architectural settings, creating a coherent design system for styling.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jony Ive</span> English designer

Jony Ive is a British-American designer. Ive is best known for his work at Apple Inc., where he served as senior vice president of industrial design and chief design officer. He has been serving as chancellor of the Royal College of Art in London since 2017.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Typography of Apple Inc.</span> Overview of typography of Apple Inc.

Apple Inc. uses a large variety of typefaces in its marketing, operating systems, and industrial design with each product cycle. These change throughout the years with Apple's change of style in their products. This is evident in the design and marketing of the company. The current logo is a white apple with a bite out of it, which was first utilized in 2013.

iMac G3 1998–2003 all-in-one computer by Apple

The iMac G3, originally released as the iMac, is a series of Macintosh personal computers that Apple Computer sold from 1998 to 2003. The iMac was Apple's first major product release under its CEO Steve Jobs, who had recently returned to the financially troubled company he co-founded after eleven years away. Jobs reorganized the company and simplified the product line. The iMac was designed as Apple's new consumer desktop product—an inexpensive, consumer-oriented computer that would easily connect to the Internet.

Jerrold Clifford Manock is an American industrial designer. He worked for Apple Computer from 1977 to 1984, contributing to housing designs for the Apple II, Apple III, and earlier compact Apple Macintosh computers. Manock is widely regarded as the "father" of the Apple Industrial Design Group. Since 1976 he is the president and principal designer of Manock Comprehensive Design, Inc., with offices in Palo Alto, California, and Burlington, Vermont.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Snow White design language</span> Industrial design language

The Snow White design language is an industrial design language which was developed by Hartmut Esslinger's Frog Design. Used by Apple Computer from 1984 to 1990, the scheme has vertical and horizontal stripes for decoration, ventilation, and to create the illusion that the computer enclosure is smaller than it actually is. The stripe element bears some similarity to earlier product designs at Atari, where Steve Jobs was a part-time technician from 1974-1975.

Hartmut Esslinger is a German-American industrial designer and inventor. He is best known for founding the design consultancy frog, and his work for Apple Computers in the early 1980s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frog Design</span> Creative and design consultancy

frog is a global creative and design consultancy founded in 1969 by industrial designer Hartmut Esslinger in Mutlangen, Germany, where it was initially named “esslinger design”. Soon after the company moved to Altensteig, Germany, and then opened a new studio in Palo Alto, California, and ultimately to its current headquarters in San Francisco, California. The company has studios in North and Central America, Europe, and Asia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Apple pointing devices</span> Computer pointing devices made by Apple

Apple Inc. has designed and manufactured several models of mice, trackpads, and other pointing devices, primarily for use with Macintosh computers. Over the years, Apple has maintained a distinct form and function with its mice that reflect their design languages of that time. Apple's current external pointing devices are the Magic Mouse 2 and Magic Trackpad 2.

Apple Inc. products has had various design motifs since its inception. Recent motifs were mainly developed under the collaboration of Steve Jobs and Jony Ive beginning in 1997, radically altering the previous Apple computer designs.

The following outline of Apple Inc. is a topical guide to the products, history, retail stores, corporate acquisitions, and personnel under the purview of the American multinational corporation Apple Inc.

Jeff Williams is Apple's chief operating officer under CEO Tim Cook, a position he has held since December 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Howard Nuk</span>

Howard Nuk is a Canadian industrial and product design leader, entrepreneur, inventor, speaker, and co-founder of Palm Ventures Group, Inc. Nuk studied industrial design at Carleton University, School of Industrial Design, Faculty of Engineering, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Industrial Design (B.I.D.) with high distinction. Born in Toronto, Canada, he lived there until his family moved to Ottawa at the age of 11.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SoundSticks</span> Multimedia speakers by Harman Kardon

SoundSticks are multimedia speakers sold by Harman Kardon, originally co-developed with Apple Inc. They were released in July 2000. They are a 2.1 system with a pair of satellite speakers and a subwoofer called the iSub, which was originally available first in October 1999 as a standalone product. They were designed by Jony Ive and have received numerous accolades for their industrial design. Harman Kardon released updated versions in 2004, 2009, 2012 and 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Baby Macintosh</span> Cancelled prototype consumer Macintosh

The Baby Macintosh was a cancelled Macintosh computer from 1986. It was designed by Hartmut Esslinger, using the new Snow White design language. It would have served as a smaller alternative to another cancelled compact Macintosh, called the Big Mac.

References

  1. "History of computer design: Apple II". www.landsnail.com.
  2. "History of computer design: frogdesign". www.landsnail.com.
  3. Nye, Sean. "Hartmut Esslinger". Immigrant Entrepreneurship. Retrieved September 6, 2023.
  4. "History of computer design: Apple IIc". www.landsnail.com.
  5. Kunkel, Paul, AppleDesign: The work of the Apple Industrial Design Group, with photographs by Rick English, New York: Graphis, 1997, p.
  6. Kunkel, Paul (August 24, 2000). "A Long-Discontinued Macintosh Still Thrills Collectors to the Core". The New York Times. Retrieved February 28, 2021.
  7. John Arlidge (March 17, 2014). "Jonathan Ive Designs Tomorrow". Time . Time Inc. Retrieved November 1, 2018.
  8. Arlidge, John (July 2, 2019). "The real reason Jony Ive left Apple". Wired UK. ISSN   1357-0978 . Retrieved March 14, 2021.
  9. Hardy, Ed (June 27, 2019). "Meet the first woman to head up Apple's famous Industrial Design team". Cult of Mac. Retrieved March 14, 2021.
  10. 1 2 3 4 Gallagher, William (May 3, 2019). "Apple's famous design team now has no original members left". AppleInsider. Retrieved June 29, 2019.
  11. Ghosh, Shona. "Apple has lost one of its most important designers". Business Insider. Retrieved June 29, 2019.
  12. "Apple Leadership - Richard Howarth - Apple". May 29, 2017. Archived from the original on May 29, 2017. Retrieved March 14, 2021.
  13. "Apple's Industrial Design Chief Hankey to Leave Three Years After Ive - Apple". Bloomberg News . February 17, 2023.
  14. "Apple's iPhone Design Chief Enlisted by Jony Ive, Sam Altman to Work on AI Devices". Bloomberg.com. December 26, 2023. Retrieved January 7, 2024. Shota Aoyagi, another member of Ive's storied industrial design team at Apple, has also exited. He just started at LoveFrom.
  15. Levy, Steven. "Apple Shares the Secret of Why the 40-Year-Old Mac Still Rules". Wired. ISSN   1059-1028 . Retrieved January 24, 2024.