I (heart) iProducts

          Staring at the screen of this very laptop, thinking of what to make this blog about, it occurred to me… This MacBook is exactly what I want to write about.     

 

            I find it interesting that a lot of attention is paid and discussion time alloted to the styling of laptop computers. Computer design is either good or bad. There are few companies today taking design as serious as Apple. They may not be the market leader fiscally; in terms of design and quality-control they are, though. Whatever your stance towards them is, one has to acknowledge their expertise in making a seemingly mundane object aesthetically outstanding.

            Steve Jobs stated once that the “design is not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works.” While this statement has proven to be crucial over thousands of years, one shouldn’t misinterpret it by emphasizing the functionality despite the design. When it comes to product design, the significance of aesthetics of a given device, the way its design looks and feels, determines the choice of the customer once the functionalities of multiple devices are more or less similar.

            Apple has launched iconic products such as the iPod, iPhone and iMac. These are prominent for their one-button-one-scroll interface, multi-touch technology and all-in-one offering, respectively. Take the iMac, for instance, and look at its evolution from a half-orb to a flat-panel all-in-one powerhouse. It's undeniably one of the most beautiful computers on the market today. At Apple everything's shiny, elegant and sleek. Decidedly so, Apple's design is timeless. Jonathan Ive has created an aesthetic identity, which is unique and captivating. A MacBook Pro is a stunning piece of electronics. From an engineering point-of-view it's also very innovative. Using the so-called unibody-construction, MacBooks have become a paradigm of clear computer design. This has also helped perfect the fusion between aesthetics and foolproof usability.

            It's not the products that are timeless, though; it's the principles by which they are created. To make something markedly simple is an easy task. However, to make it so without compromising its sophistication is not as easy. Few products are timeless. Especially in industrial design it's hard to stand out, and stand the test of time. Innovation is the only way to advance a mundane product to something which is indispensable. If a computer's design is organic it will blend in with its environment, making it an intuitive part of our home or workspace.