What's Next for Designers
by Bennett Holzworth, (8 comments)
Business 2.0 recently published an article on What’s Next for Apple. Along with the article there is a fascinating photoessay (vPod shown above) of what Pentagram designer, Robert Brunner, imagined would be the next step for Apple. Not at all what I would predict, but I was never a chief designer at Apple either. Many of the very realistically rendered images seem to fly in the face of what Steve Job’s has said in the past. Of the five predictions the iPhone and the iHome seem to be the biggest offenders of Apple’s brand. Microsoft is already putting a great amount of energy into the home TV/computer system and the cell phone market is more saturated than any. If someone else has done it already, Apple doesn’t seem to want to go anywhere near it. Just think of the two button mouse (Of course there are rumors floating around that this is a possibility as well).
This seems to be a unique time in Apple’s history. They are at a stage where they can really break out of the gates and make an unprecedented amount of sales, but will they be able to keep their brand image in place through this time? I’m sure the answer will be yes.
The choice of black for Apple’s future color doesn’t seem to fit either. The description in the photo essay describes the color black as a way to distinguish from the other line of iPods. The iPod shuffle is a very different music player, but it is still the classic iPod white. Under Steve Job’s, Apple has headed in only three distinct color directions; white, bright colors and metal. I don’t see leather and black as the direction that Apple will go. The fact that Sony’s just released PSP is shiny black doesn’t make me think that Apple would forge in the same direction as one of their main competitors either.
With the iPod controlling 93% of the digital music market and the fact that the iPod sales will equal Apple computer sales in 2006, I have one major concern. Where does that leave us designers? The creative industry is the only reason that Apple is still alive and thriving today. We designers love our iPods, but will Apple start ignoring the needs of the long-time mainstay to make more money off of the disposable income of entertainment hungry teens? The fact that Robert Brunner and Business 2.0 didn’t even mention any sort of professional innovations leads one to believe that they don’t think Apple will be focusing as much energy on us either. The release of the G5 is our shinning beacon that Apple hasn’t forgotten us. Now if they could only figure out how to get a G5 processor in a laptop.
Comments (8)
Adrian said:
I thought I heard the other day about a possibility of Apple buying Tivo. Was I dreaming that, or whatever happened?
Posted on March 28, 2005
Adrian said:
Ok, I wasn’t dreaming. Here’s a link, but it looks like it is just a rumor so far: pvrblog.com
Posted on March 29, 2005
nate said:
Wouldn’t it be cool ifﾖ
Hey buddy, you’re not the chief designer anymore. iPhone? Please. PLEASE. Make sure you read those two “please”es with a deep, sarcastic tone.
Apple has never sought to take over the home in the way this fanboy article would lead us to believe. I reference chapter one of the Brand Gap. The iPhone is akin to Porche releasing that SUV. What a waste of a brand. Apple is not an all-consumer-electronics-products brand, like Sony or Samsung. Apple is a computer company. The iPod is, in essence, a computer. It has input, output, and an interface. Its not against Apple’s brand to release the brilliant product, its an extension.
The iPhone? WTF does that have to do with Apple’s brand? One of the most respected brands in the world, that one. And they didn’t get there by releasing every little product that popped into their heads. They stay focused, keep their eye on the prize, and excell at their chosen field.
So anyway, I disagree with that whole article.
Posted on March 30, 2005
Bennett said:
Nate, I think we can probably cut Robert Brunner and his Pentgram team a little slack. Business 2.0 probably came to him with the products that they wanted designed and paid him for his time. I think you aren’t far off in putting the blame on the article itself. I guess they have “clues” that would lead one to believe that Apple was working on phones, cameras and other consumer electronics. We have something more solid than clues… decades of Apple products that have been nothing short of innovative, all the while never deviating from their brand. Even if Apple engineers were working on some of these products I would bet that Mr. Job’s wouldn’t let them out into the market.
Posted on March 31, 2005
Adrian said:
I don’t think Apple will dig into the phone industry either, but I don’t think it is that crazy of an idea. The recent success of Apple isn’t based on it’s strict adherence to a computer only brand. Nate, maybe you missed it, but the main push of Apple is something called iLife. They are brining classic Apple innovation to the areas that computers can improve different aspects of our LIFE. I think an iPhone could fit comfortably under an iLife umbrella. Apple has been increasingly friendly with PC users, and open to partnering with other companies. Maybe Apple could design a phone for a phone company. The U2 iPod was a just as unlikely partnership. I know it is doubtful that they would ever do it, but if they did I know I would want to buy an iPhone. Let’s face it, you would too. A computer company has revolutionized the music industry. It’s not that unrealistic to speculate that the telephone industry could be next.
Posted on March 31, 2005
Bennett said:
Side Note: Even thought I don’t think some of those photo essay products are the next big thing for Apple, I would be happy with any of them. They are all very well designed.
Posted on March 31, 2005
nate said:
Yeah, let me just go boot up iLife on my computer.
Posted on April 1, 2005
Bennett said:
Isn’t is ironic that as soon as I say that black wouldn’t be a direction that Apple would be heading, they turn their homepage black for the launch of Tiger.
While I’m on the topic, I think I will like some of the new features in Tiger. As a big fan of Expose, I think I will like Dashboard as well. It seems to contain many of the mini-aps that I open on a regular basis. It would be nice if they had an RSS reader as part of Dashboard. I guess they are leaving that to Safari RSS.
Posted on April 13, 2005