Snow White design language

Last updated
An Apple IIc with its monitor, demonstrating the Snow White design language Apple IIc with monitor.jpg
An Apple IIc with its monitor, demonstrating the Snow White 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. [1] [2] The stripe element bears some similarity to earlier product designs at Atari, where Steve Jobs was a part-time technician [3] [4] from 1974-1975. [5]

Contents

The design language boosted Apple's global reputation, set design trends for the computer industry, and molded the perception of computers in the manufacturing and business world. [6]

Among other design features, Esslinger's presentation of the Apple logo—a three-dimensional logo inlaid into the product case with the product name printed onto its surface—was included on nearly every product for several years.

History

In 1982, Apple officials looked outside the company, and indeed the country, for a designer who could help them establish the firm as a world-class company.

Snow White refers to the seven projects code-named after the Seven Dwarfs on which the new design language was to be applied. Several designers were courted by Apple under the Snow White project to see what they would come up with for the seven products (of which there were actually eight). The winner ultimately was Esslinger and the resulting style assumed the project's code name. [7]

The Apple IIc computer, and its peripherals, were the first Snow White design.

Initially, Snow White debuted in a creamy off-white color known at Apple as "Fog" [8] but later other products moved to the warm gray "Platinum" color, lighter than the previous Apple "Putty" color, used throughout the Apple product line from 1987 on. Esslinger favored a bright-white color originally for the IIc, but Jerry Manock successfully argued that it would attract fingerprints. Nevertheless, Esslinger detested the original Apple beige color and insisted all Snow White-styled products use the same off-white color as the IIc. Until the change to Platinum, no Snow White designs appeared in any other color, except for the Hard Disk 20SC in order to better match the beige color of the Macintosh Plus beneath which it was designed to sit.

Beginning in 1990, the Apple Industrial Design Group gradually altered and phased out the use of the Snow White language.

Front view of the manual-inject (left) and auto-inject (right) bezels of two Macintosh LC IIs. The older right bezel featured the horizontal indentation aligning with the floppy drive which was a defining characteristic of the Snow White design language. Macintosh LC II front.jpg
Front view of the manual-inject (left) and auto-inject (right) bezels of two Macintosh LC IIs. The older right bezel featured the horizontal indentation aligning with the floppy drive which was a defining characteristic of the Snow White design language.

Design features

Macintosh IIx Macintosh IIx.jpg
Macintosh IIx
Macintosh Portable Macintosh Portable-IMG 7541.jpg
Macintosh Portable

The distinguishing characteristics originated by the Snow White design language, in contrast to the original Apple industrial design style, include the following:

Any or all of these features indicate a Snow White Frog Design influence over an otherwise Apple-designed product. In particular the first official implementation, the Apple IIc, does not represent the complete set of design elements, while the Macintosh II includes all of them. Later, the Macintosh LC began to phase out some of the design elements.

Apple logo Apple IIgs 002.jpg
Apple logo

Implementation

Apple products designed in the Snow White theme (all used the "Platinum" gray color scheme except as noted):

Apple IIGS Apple IIGS.jpg
Apple IIGS
LaserWriter II Apple Laserwriter II.jpg
LaserWriter II
Macintosh II MacII.jpg
Macintosh II
a:^ 1 2 3 While the IIc generally gets credit for being the first Apple computer released in the Snow White design language, it was not a "pure" example. Rob Gemmel (who was instrumental in soliciting Esslinger) had designed the IIc a year earlier and unbeknownst to him, Frog Design was working on their own design. In the end it was a compromise of Gemmel’s original design and Frog Design’s modifications. Likewise, the Macintosh SE was essentially Manock and Oyama’s design updated with Snow White details. The IIgs, which introduced Platinum gray, also evidenced the legacy design of the original Apple II case, in particular Manock’s wedge-shape. It wasn’t until the Macintosh II when Frog Design finally had a clean slate on which to design from the ground up, that the first pure example of pure Snow White was realized.
b:^ 1 2 3 4 5 6 Introduced in off-white "Fog" and later switched to "Platinum" gray
c:^ 1 2 3 Off-white "Fog" only
d:^ 1 Introduced simultaneously in both Apple/Macintosh beige and "Platinum" gray to better match the beige Macintosh Plus for which it was designed to sit beneath as well as conform to the Apple IIgs color scheme released at the same time. This would be the only Snow White product to intentionally use the original beige color for the purpose of matching existing products.
e:^ 1 All Apple connectors and cables began a transition to beige in 1985, however, certain Macintosh peripheral cables (e.g. mice and disk drives), despite adopting the new connector style, retained their medium-brown appearance until the transition to Platinum in 1987, at which time all cables became a dark gray color Apple called "Smoke".
f:^ 1 Though technically beige, like the connectors & cables, the Mouse IIc is considered to be colored as a Fog co-ordinated accent. It is definitely a Snow White design, which elements form the basis for the subsequent Apple Desktop Bus Mouse. It was not produced in Platinum.

Most Apple Displays introduced between 1984 and 1994 also used Snow White, except those specifically designed to match the Apple II series.

All Apple ADB keyboards and mice introduced between 1986 and 1993 were Snow White designs.

Unofficial designs

Lisa 2/Macintosh XL Macintosh XL.jpg
Lisa 2/Macintosh XL
Macintosh IIsi Macintosh IIsi 2.jpg
Macintosh IIsi
PowerBook 165 PIC 0847 PowerBook 165.JPG
PowerBook 165

Both the 100- and 200-series PowerBooks and accessories were intended to tie into the rest of the Apple desktop products using the corporate Snow White design language. However, the light colors and decorative recessed lines did not seem appropriate for the scaled-down designs. In addition to adopting the darker grey color scheme which co-ordinated with the official corporate look, they also adopted a raised series of ridges mimicking the indented lines on the desktops. These early PowerBooks would be the last to use the aging Snow White look and the only ones to make such a radical adaptation of it. [7]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Apple II series</span> Computer series by Apple Computer, 1977–1993

The Apple II series is a family of home computers, one of the first highly successful mass-produced microcomputer products, designed primarily by Steve Wozniak, manufactured by Apple Computer, and launched in 1977 with the original Apple II.

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

The Apple IIe is the third model in the Apple II series of personal computers produced by Apple Computer. It was released as the successor to the Apple II Plus. The e in the name stands for enhanced, referring to the fact that several popular features were now built-in that were formerly only available as upgrades or add-ons in earlier models. It is notable as the first Apple II to offer built-in lower-case and 80 columns text support, as well a full 64K RAM–all while reducing the total chip count from previous models by approximately 75%.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Apple IIe Card</span> Compatibility card

The Apple IIe Card is a compatibility card, which through hardware and software emulation, allows certain Macintosh computers to run software designed for the Apple II series of computers. Released in March 1991 for use with the LC family, Apple targeted the card at its widely dominated educational market to ease the transition from Apple II-based classrooms, with thousands of entrenched educational software titles, to Macintosh-based classrooms.

<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">Apple IIGS</span> Apple II series 16-bit computer

The Apple IIGS is a 16-bit personal computer produced by Apple Computer. It is the fifth and most powerful of the Apple II family. It is compatible with earlier Apple II models but has a Macintosh look and feel, and resolution and color similar to the Amiga and Atari ST. The "GS" in the name stands for "Graphics and Sound", referring to its enhanced multimedia hardware, especially its state-of-the-art audio.

<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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Macintosh LC family</span> Family of lower-cost Macintosh computers by Apple, Inc.

The Macintosh LC is a family of personal computers designed, manufactured and sold by Apple Computer, Inc. from 1990 to 1997.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ImageWriter</span> Product line of dot matrix printers formerly manufactured by Apple

The ImageWriter is a product line of dot matrix printers formerly manufactured by Apple Computer, Inc., and designed then to be compatible with their entire line of computers. There were three different models introduced over time, which were popular mostly among Apple II and Macintosh owners.

Apple Inc. has sold a variety of LCD and CRT computer displays since introducing their first display in 1980. 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. In March 2022, the Studio Display was launched as a consumer-targeted counterpart. These are currently the only Apple-branded displays available.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Macintosh IIcx</span> Personal computer by Apple, Inc.

The Macintosh IIcx is a personal computer designed, manufactured and sold by Apple Computer, Inc. from March 1989 to March 1991. Introduced six months after the Macintosh IIx, the IIcx resembles the IIx and provides the same performance, but is seven inches narrower, ten pounds lighter, and quieter due to a smaller internal fan. The relative compactness results in three NuBus slots being available, compared with six on the IIx.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Apple keyboards</span> External computer keyboards developed by Apple Inc.

Apple Inc. has designed and developed many external keyboard models for use with families of Apple computers, such as the Apple II, Mac, and iPad. The Magic Keyboard and Magic Keyboard with Numeric Keypad designed to be used via either Bluetooth and USB connectivity, and have integrated rechargeable batteries; The Smart Keyboard and Magic Keyboard accessories for iPads are designed to be directly attached to and powered by a host iPad. All current Apple keyboards utilize low-profile key designs, and common modifier keys.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Apple IIc Plus</span> Personal computer by Apple

The Apple IIc Plus is the sixth and final model in the Apple II series of personal computers, produced by Apple Computer. The "Plus" in the name was a reference to the additional features it offered over the original portable Apple IIc, such as greater storage capacity, increased processing speed, and a general standardization of the system components. In a notable change of direction, the Apple IIc Plus, for the most part, did not introduce new technology or any further evolutionary contributions to the Apple II series, instead merely integrating existing peripherals into the original Apple IIc design. The development of the 8-bit machine was criticized by quarters more interested in the significantly more advanced 16-bit Apple IIGS.

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 Computer in the early 1980s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Disk II</span> Floppy disk drive for the Apple II computer

The Disk II Floppy Disk Subsystem, often rendered as Disk ][, is a 5 +1⁄4-inch floppy disk drive designed by Steve Wozniak at the recommendation of Mike Markkula, and manufactured by Apple Computer, Inc. It went on sale in June 1978 at a retail price of US$495 for pre-order; it was later sold for $595 including the controller card and cable. The Disk II was designed specifically for use with the Apple II personal computer family to replace the slower cassette tape storage.

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.

<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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hard Disk 20SC</span> Hard drive by Apple

The Apple Hard Disk 20SC is Apple's first SCSI based hard drive for the Apple II family as well as the Macintosh and other third party computers using an industry standard SCSI interface.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Macintosh External Disk Drive</span> External floppy disk drive by Apple

The Macintosh External Disk Drive is the original model in a series of external 3+1⁄2-inch floppy disk drives manufactured and sold by Apple Computer exclusively for the Macintosh series of computers introduced in January 1984. Later, Apple would unify their external drives to work cross-platform between the Macintosh and Apple II product lines, dropping the name "Macintosh" from the drives. Though Apple had been producing external floppy disk drives prior to 1984, they were exclusively developed for the Apple II, III and Lisa computers using the industry standard 5+1⁄4-inch flexible disk format. The Macintosh external drives were the first to widely introduce Sony's new 3+1⁄2-inch rigid disk standard commercially and throughout their product line. Apple produced only one external 3+1⁄2-inch drive exclusively for use with the Apple II series called the Apple UniDisk 3.5.

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.

References

  1. ↑ Esslinger, Hartmut (10 September 2013). "Keep It Simple". designmind.frogdesign.com/. Retrieved 21 January 2014.
  2. ↑ Bidgoli, Hossein (2010). The Handbook of Technology Management: Supply Chain Management, Marketing and Advertising, and Global Management. Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons. p. 314. ISBN   978-0470249482.
  3. ↑ Carson, Nicholas (10 June 2009). "CEO's First Jobs: Steve Jobs". www.businessinsider.com. Retrieved 23 February 2021.
  4. ↑ Cafaldi, Frank (7 October 2011). "Steve Jobs, Atari Employee Number 40". www.gamasutra.com. Retrieved 23 February 2021.
  5. ↑ Isaacson 2011, pp. 42–43.
  6. ↑ Kahney, Leander (2008). Inside Steve's Brain: Business Lessons from Steve Jobs, the Man Who Saved Apple. London: Atlantic Books Ltd. ISBN   978-1-848-87784-9.
  7. 1 2 Kunkel, Paul. AppleDesign: The work of the Apple Industrial Design Group, with photographs by Rick English. New York: Graphis, 1997, p.30
  8. ↑ History of computer design: Apple IIc
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.