Ghosts of iPhones past.
(Credit:
Hartmut Esslinger/Designboom)
Apple fanatics may find themselves foaming at the mouth over some retro conceptual
Mac computer photos featured in Hartmut Esslinger's upcoming book "Design Forward: Creative Strategies for Sustainable Change."
The book explores Esslinger's journey as a German designer who worked with Sony, Louis Vuitton, and others before moving on to Apple in 1982. Apple hired Esslinger to transform the successful yet scattered startup into a brand with a globally recognizable design mantra.
The book, which was written about earlier by Designboom, sheds light on some stunning Apple product concepts, many of which came to fruition years -- or in some cases decades -- later. You can see a few of these concepts here in our blog post, but head on over to Designboom to see more of Esslinger's prototype Mac desktop computers, a phone, a laptop, and even a
tablet.
An excerpt from the book reveals how a 28-year-old Steve Jobs aspired to bring the company together from the inside out through its product design:
The company's [then] CEO, Michael Scott, had created different business divisions for each product line, including accessories such as monitors and memory drives. Each division had its own head of design and developed its products the way it wanted to. As a result, Apple's products shared little in the way of a common design language or overall synthesis.
In essence, bad design was both the symptom and a contributing cause of Apple's corporate disease. Steve's desire to end the disjoined approach gave birth to a strategic design project that would revolutionize Apple's brand and product lines, change the trajectory of the company's future, and eventually redefine the way the world thinks about and uses consumer electronics and communication technologies.
The "Design Forward" book reveals how Apple originally contacted Esslinger's firm Frog Design after learning of a similar move by Xerox. At the time, Xerox employed the Richardson Smith design agency to develop a single design-language that could be used across the company.
Another fascinating portion of the book, which is available for preorder on Amazon, reveals that Jobs had Esslinger create a Mac computer that looked like one made by Sony -- a company that was consistently redefining aesthetic trends in consumer electronics during that time.
Hartmut's vision of an Apple computer with a dash of Sony style.
(Credit:
Hartmut Esslinger/Designboom)
Upcoming book gives look at early Apple designs
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Upcoming book gives look at early Apple designs
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Upcoming book gives look at early Apple designs
