Elegant Technology

A favourite elegant YouTube video.

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In my earlier blog entry here I mentioned that whilst Steve Wozniak discussed his new book iWoz he also made many references to Steve Jobs. A few of the things he said are paraphrased below.

Statement One: Steve Jobs chose his University based on the fact that one of the professors had been awarded a Nobel Peace Prize despite the fact that this was both expensive for his parents and miles away from home.

Statement Two: At Berkley Steve Jobs had a tent erected in his dorm room. When Steve Wozniak visited Jobs at university he noticed this and that Jobs had his girlfriend ‘living in’ with him.

Statement Three: Jobs would get enthusiastic about healthy food. The Woz stated that one time Jobs ‘banged’ on about some edible seeds.

Statement Four: Even back then Jobs was convincing. He was able, time and time again, to convince others to support Apple. With the supply of new chips, with information, etc. In other words he would ‘punch above his weight’ by making out that Apple was a bigger and more successful organisation than it was at the time.

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I thought I would share with you my computer setup at home. As you can see I really like the colour white. In the picture you can see the following;

• A MacBook and power supply
• A Mighty Mouse and mouse-mat
• An Apple remote
• An iPod dock
• A Netgear router
• A Marc Newson ceramic cup
• A Nike ‘Player’ wristband
• A Lexon ‘Stick Radio’
• A Muji pocket mirror

This setup is in a completely white room - white walls, ceiling, floor, door, and window blind. I would like to will replace the desk and chair to white versions.

The RGB coordinates of white are 255 255 255.

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The new MINI from BMW group comes with an interesting option; variable interior lighting. Using a control panel, located in the front headlining area, the user can set the colour of the interior lights from sporting blue through to warm orange.

This sets the colour of the interior lights in the headlining, glove box, and door handle areas.

The option is standard on certain models and with some pre-configured ‘packs’ like the ‘Chilli pack’. Otherwise it costs £110 in the UK.

Elegant: No. Cool: Yes.

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About a year ago I splashed out on a Satellite Navigation System. I did some research and decided that, for my needs, the Garmin i3 model would be fine. It seemed to offer a simple - single purpose - solution and was one of the cheapest available here in the UK. It came preloaded [on a micro SD card] with UK mapping to Post Code level.

I quickly found a POI [points of interest] web site and was able to download a UK database of speed cameras. On a few occasions when I wasn’t traveling the same route to work, and when I travelled on Holiday, I used the i3 with good results.

However lately the Sat Nav, when turned on, informs me that the map information should be updated as the existing data is now out of date.

This is where the disappointment starts.

Having visited the Garmin.co.uk web site for map updates I am redirected to the Garmin.com site [US] where updates are only offered to the US market. This means I am left with a device that is rapidly becoming useless.

When I check the tomtom web site I see that I can update their Sat Nav systems from about €59. Why can’t I do that with Garmin?

Based on my experience, my next Sat Nav will be from tomtom.

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Apple’s products use appropriate materials and a have refined designs. Each new iteration is either thinner, lighter, simpler, more powerful or cheaper whilst maintaining the clean approachable look. The design of Apple’s products are at once a delight to the eye and are unobtrusive allowing the function to be fully utilised.

Some other premium manufacturers seem to have adopted a radical departure from their previous understated designs in order to differentiate their products from others. In doing this they hope their products will ’stand out’. Two such companies are Bang & Olufsen and Audi.

Bang & Olufen’s products have always been expensive but this was coupled with great design. As well as simplifying function, B&O refined the look their products and used high quality materials. Whilst they still use high quality materials some of their latest designs seem odd.

Take the Serene mobile phone developed in conjunction with Samsung. The phone DOES look different and has a simplified interface BUT I think the design fails. It fails because of the number pad being circular and located where the screen would normally be. It also fails in its overall form which I think was developed ‘to make it stand out’.

Good design does not stand out but fades into the background.

Similarly Audi have changed the look of their cars. Primarily with the introduction of the single frame grille at the front. This was obviously to make more of an impact on the road and for the public to associate the sight of the grille with the Audi brand. A bit like the Nike swoosh but more extreme. Audi already has the four circle badge which was enough to identify the brand in my opinion. Audi wants the buying public to associate the brand with high performance and it sees the grille change as a way of doing it. Whilst the new design language is growing on me I still think that Audi cars have lost that ‘understated elegance’ they were long associated with.

Back to Apple. Apple has over time used materials, colour, and design sparingly to the point where its products automatically stood out and were different from the norm. The worry is now that they will change their design language, as other manufacturers copy them [iPod .v. Zune], to a point where they introduce ‘flourishes’ and strange forms just to make the product stand out.

I am pretty sure that Apple will hold it’s nerve and continue on its present course with products having a minimal design and a high quality finish.

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I can’t believe I have been using Apple products for over 20 years. In that time I have never been disappointed with the ‘Apple Experience’. Since my first WOW moment on seeing the first Macintosh to my latest iPod nano.

Despite a steady stream of products Apple’s future wasn’t always as rosy as it is today. At times I felt like the only person aware of the brand. However in more recent times things have definitely improved with Apple being seen as one of the ‘coolest’ brands around. The things that have taken my experience of Apple to the next level in recent times are;

• Apple Stores - Before the beautiful Apple stores started opening the chances of seeing an Macintosh on sale were pretty slim. Often tucked away and presented in a negative way. Now it is great to visit the best designed stores around to buy Apple stuff.
• Packaging - Not that many years ago Apple computers came in nondescript brown cardboard boxes with low quality inserts. Now the packaging is well designed, minimal, and beautiful. I have to admit that I have taken so called ‘un boxing’ pictures so I can continue the experience.
• Product Design - Just take a look at the current crop of products from Apple Inc. Well designed and well finished with high quality materials. These things are so good they need to be kept as pristine as possible so as not to ruin the experience.
• Software - When I first saw the Macintosh, after using an Apple ][, I was blown by what I saw on the screen. This was so different from what had gone before. I feel the same today when I see OSX. I even play with it on machines on display in the store [despite having a MacBook at home].

The whole Apple experience is one of understated elegant design.

Owned List [Gone but not forgotten]. Latest in Bold

• Mac Plus
• Mac Classic and Stylewriter Printer
• PowerBook 145b
• Mac Performa
• Mac Cube & 15″ Studio Display [best]
• 15″ Powerbook Alum.
• White MacBook

Other

• Newton x 2
• Airport Express
• iPod 3rd Gen.
• iPod nano 1st Gen.
• iPod Shuffle Mk 1.
• iPod Photo [4th Gen].
• iPod nano 2nd Gen.

If you haven’t already, I hope you get the chance to own and use some of Apple’s products.

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I don’t hold the view that ‘Form Follows Function‘ but rather ‘Form Follows Function Follows Form‘. What I mean by this is that an object has to have form before we can assess its function. Just think about a hammer; I would argue that it’s design evolved to its current form after it had been used to knock in nails.

Those things recognised as having a beautiful form, and that function well, probably started off looking quite ugly.

In manufacturing this is known as the prototype period. The stage when lots and lots of iterations take place and the form is refined [along with the function].

I recently used a Nikon D50 digital SLR camera. My initial reaction was that it looked odd with its asymmetric grip and multitude of buttons. Previously I had compared it with the sleek compact cameras available and considered it too big and, for want of a better word, ‘lumpy’. In use though the D50’s design makes sense. The controls that seem like some form of duplication are logical when the camera is held to the face and used. Buttons can be reached and the size ang weight mean it can be held more steadily and comfortably. With the use of different lenses the camera can perform at it’s best in a variety of situations where a compact cameras function is compromised.

The D50 along with all Nikon cameras represent the current level in evolution of form. But these forms definitely follow function…but in an elegant way.

Other things I like about the D50;

• Manual zoom - saves battery.
• Fast picture transfer from the camera to my Apple MacBook.
• No movie mode - this is a pure camera.
• Manual overides for just about everything.
• Quality construction.

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In the mid 90s I came across an article in the UK Sunday Times magazine that focused on a project that the architect John Pawson had completed entitled van Royen Apartment. Since then I have been fascinated by the concept of minimalism. Minimalism in architecture, art, music, and lifestyle which, from time to time, I try to introduce into my own life.

Having bought many books, read many articles, and watched many documentaries on the subject, my preference is now for a pared down visual look with an elimination of the unnecessary. This form of high quality minimalist visual aesthetic ALWAYS has a high [higher] price tag than the norm. This is apparent from the music systems of B&O to the computers and iPods from Apple Inc.

More recently the Residences at the New Gramercy Park Hotel, New York caught my eye when I saw an advert in the Conde Nast Traveler magazine and I recognised some trademark Pawson touches. Upon investigation I found out that this was an Ian Schrager enterprise and that these apartments cost up to $16m. If I was a billionaire I would love one of these apartments.

If you would like more on this subject then let me know.

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Ah roundrects, rectangles with rounded corners, visible everywhere in product design.

• Used to make manufacturing easier - an item with a radius is easier to remove from a mould or press.
• Used by designers to ’soften’ the visual appearance of a product and to make it more comfortable to the touch.
• Used to remove sharp edges and make things safer.

I was reminded of this fact whilst reading the interesting site Folklore.org; a site where the people who worked on the original Macintosh Computer have posted their stories.

It appears that even as far back as May 1981 Steve Jobs was obsessed with the roundrect when he challenged Bill Atkinson [the creator of quickdraw] to develop routines to draw them on the original Macintosh screen.

This obsession is still evident in Apple’s product design today. From the product case designs of computers and laptops, the new Airport Extreme, the iPod, and the OSX interface elements. One of the most blatant examples is the keyboard of the MacBook.

Could this be because Steve has the final say on design matters at Apple?

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