Apple Design

by Friedrich von Borries, Ina Grätz (Editor), Harald Klinke

Easily one of the most influential and popular design companies of our era, Apple has made electronics design history with its innovative iMacs, iPhones, iPods and iPads. Apple Design features over 200 examples of outstanding Apple designs by Jonathan Ive (born 1967), the company's Senior Vice President of Industrial Design, who since 1997 has been responsible for the design of all of Apple's products. Over the past decade, Ive and his team of designers have created elegant and user-friendly designs that have significantly advanced the brand's cult status as it enters the new millennium. Examining each of these in detail, and with full color throughout, Apple Design compares various approaches to industrial design alongside Apple's, and casts light on numerous aspects of its history, deepening our understanding of contemporary industrial design. Following an analysis of the forms and functions of the featured Apple products, the book provides an explanation of the innovative production methods and materials applied. Last but not least, it examines Apple design's overt references to the simplified forms of the products manufactured by the great German brand Braun, and enumerates the famous "Ten Rules for Good Design" promulgated by the company's chief designer, Dieter Rams, showing in each case how Apple has deployed and fulfilled them.

Genres: Design, Art, Technology

320 pages, Hardcover

First published November 30, 2011

Reviews

[Jaimie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Considering how much I enjoy Apple specifically for its innovative design work, this exhibition book was a huge disappointment as neither the articles nor the illustrated content was very inspiring. The issue with the essays, written mostly by foreign academics with ties to the hosting museum, I assume is largely an issue of translation and style. I've long abandoned academic journals and their pompous overtones for more accessible content, and unfortunately the majority of museum exhibition books and art history tomes still engage in this style of snobbery. Since most of the authors are also German (as was the hosting institution), I assume that the original text was German and therefore the translation therein causes a sense of disconnect. Once I got to the second half of the book, which presented a timeline of Apple and its various products designed by Johnathan Ive, I figured that I was in safe territory, but yet again I was underwhelmed. The exhibition pieces were well laid out in terms of page design, but there was no accompanying text to give us any context. Sure, the preliminary essays were supposed to play that role to an extent, but side by side content would have drawn out a lot more potential thought, even if it does break with Apple's über minimalist stylings. I am sure that some museum (or iMuseum if Apple continues to develop as a brand and company) will do another exhibition on the topic, so I hope that next time around they do a better job of it.

[Topaz · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book accompanies an exhibit in Germany of Apple design, specifically the products designed by Johnathan Ive from ~ 1997-2011. Overall it can be considered more of a coffee table book, however there is more written content than most books of this type.

The first 40% of the book is a collection of essays about Apple design by various design professionals and historians. The remaining part is color studio photos of the entire product line designed by Ive up to the time of publication.

The overall quality of this book is nice - high quality paper, photos, and color. It is a substantial weight and feels like quality. The overall design and layout is nice too, except for the notched on the side to mimic an apple bite like the Apple logo, a little cheesy an unnecessary.

Where this book falls short is not only in timing but content. The book came out in 2011, perhaps at the mid-point (looking back) of Ive's tenure at Apple. Perhaps it was premature to product an exhibit and book so early in his career when many more Apple products would be produced. It has the feel of a retrospective exhibit, however Ive was at the peak of his design work. Has the exhibit been a true retrospective and covered all of his Apple work, it would have had the benefit of time to allow more analysis and critique of its lasting impact and significance. By producing this exhibit and this book at the peak of his popularity and career, it is essentially Ive on a pedestal for all to worship.

Reading this book in 2024 is a very different experience than if it were 2011. Much has changed in the world of technology and design, and many new products have come and gone. The work overall seems less significant than the book in 2011 would have you believe. In that respect, it seems to cater to the Apple 'fan boys' of the time who would buy and worship anything Apple. in that respect, it is a success.

The photo gallery/catalog that takes up nearly 2/3 of this book is a hugely missed opportunity. Each product is photographed in a studio from the same angle with the same lighting. The products take up less than half the page and surprisingly there are no close-up or detail shots. One of the hallmarks of Apple design is the attention to detail. The authors missed a great opportunity to have beautiful close-up photos highlighting these details. They easily could have just used previously taken photos and achieved the same result. It is basically a complete marketing catalog of product, but without any specs.

They also missed the opportunity to display the packaging and marketing. As discussed in several of the essays and as is widely known, Apple has a very cohesive design language and strategy across all disciplines - design, engineering, marketing, advertising, packaging, graphic, etc. Even though this book/exhibit focuses on lead designer Ive, it is not telling the full story and is another giant missed opportunity.

The full Apple Design story is not complete without discussing and exhibiting the full spectrum of design and not just the hardware and finished product. In addition, concept, sketches, and prototypes are completely absent from this book and would have been a big benefit shedding light into the design process as well.

If you are a big Apple lover, this book may be for you, but it is underwhelming and incomplete as a review of Apple Design, especially considering the size and what else could have been contained in the same volume.

[Mackenzie · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the wake of Steve Jobs' passing and a slew of Apple new releases (OSX Lion, iOS 5, iTunes 5, iPhone 4GS), this year Apple has had a busy year in 2011. It is appropriate then that publisher Hatje Cantz releases this book this year because there's no better timing for it as Apple mania reaches new heights.

The book opens with a chapter that quotes John Sculley:

"What a lot of people don't realize was that Apple wasn't just about computers. It was about designing products and designing marketing and it was about positioning.

In the next 300 or so pages, the book analyzes Apple's strategies in designing products that win them the market competition in personal computers and gadgets. The book, whose first half is comprised of several essays on the various design aspects of Apple, claims that the key to the success of late Mr. Jobs' company was for the most part due to its innovative design and high functionality.

Then it proceeds to display in the second half of the book a gallery of Apple computers and gadgets designed by Jonathan Ive, "an English designer and the Senior Vice President of Industrial Design at Apple Inc. He is the leading designer and conceptual mind behind the iMac, titanium and aluminum PowerBook G4, G4 Cube, MacBook, unibody MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, iPod, iPhone, and iPad."

The essays in Apple Design cover a range of topics for those wishing to delve deeper into the world of Apple Inc. - Apple stores, advertising campaigns and even the geography of Southern California where Apple's headquarter is located in. It also offers a profound insight to the company that Jobs and Steve Wozniak founded in 1976 from a design point of view. Complete with an 'evolution chart' of the progression of computer and gadget models, this book lists the designs Apple released from 1997 until 2011 in the same style that the company it analyzes presents their products to the public: clean, classy and cool. The photography is nothing spectacular. It doesn't need to be; the products speak for themselves. The book has a neat layout that makes it easy for us to read the wordy text of the essays. All in all, it's a comprehensive tome, if not so lightweight or lighthearted,

Apple Design may not carry the same pull for Apple fans the way Walter Isaacson's biography of Steve Jobs does, but it is a solid and comprehensive, if not so lightweight or lighthearted, tome for those who are more interested in the innovation of Apple Inc. as a company than the one genius behind it. For non-fans, too, the book may change their minds about not using an Apple product: it is one of the best looking, most attractive piece of technology out there in the world right now.

[Mirza · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cool as f