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Paperback - 288 pages (October 1997)
Watson-Guptill Pubns; ISBN: 1888001259 ; Dimensions (in inches): 0.96 x 11.85 x 9.37
Amazon.com Sales Rank: 3,685
Avg. Customer Review:
Number of Reviews: 5

AppleDesign walks you through every product line, including many that never actually saw the light of day. Photographs ranging from the Apple I prototype and the classic Apple II to the space-age futurism of the e-Mate and Pomona lines will have Mac fanatics drooling and even the staunchest Apple critics sighing in appreciation. It is hard to imagine a photo book of any other company's computers that could be construed as aesthetically pleasing. The accompanying text tells the stories behind the pictures and contains plenty of insider anecdotes, profiles of the creative forces of Apple, and descriptions of the product lines from the actualized to the theoretical. This is a staple for any Apple fan and a worthwhile addition to the shelf of anyone interested in the history of computing.

General Computing Editor's Recommended Book
This oversized, coffee-table volume is devoted to the industrial design of every product made at Apple Computer over the course of 20 years. Lavishly illustrated with over 400 large color photographs by photographer Rick English, the book transforms the plastic cases, LCD displays, and disk drives from old Apple IIcs, Lisas, Macs, PowerBooks, and Newtons (and a few technologies that never made it to the street) into objects of fine art. The book's attention to detail, even in the small peripherals, such as the stylus of the Newton--the ubiquitous round stick-on microphone that ships with the Mac--contributes to the technological identity of the Apple brand.

Remember that 20 years ago, when you walked into a campus computing center or office building, you could distinguish an Apple system from an IBM system from across a room. The early IBM PCs were box-shaped--as close to pure squares and rectangles as possible--and buttoned down with garters on the socks like the Big Blue executives who sold them to the world as business machines. In contrast, the physical design of the Apple machines has always represented the company's "alternative" (and borderline arrogant) mindset, appealing to the more artistic user and fueling the left-versus-right-brain debates. In addition to the packaging of the machine, the Mac's graphical user interface and Motorola CPUs provided the artistic cover by which this innovative book could safely be judged.

Today other computer companies casually imitate the technofuturistic curvedness of the once-almost-shocking Apple design. Much like how the set of the movie Blade Runner has influenced many films that followed it, the industrial design of Apple machines continues to shape other companies' computer designs. AppleDesign is interesting both as an historical document and an artistic appreciation of these designs.

Synopsis
On Apple's 20th anniversary, the firm's groundbreaking and colorful design history is laid out more fully than ever before. With the author awarded complete access by Apple to its archives and executives, this is the most detailed study of the company and its products ever published. The book covers all the goods made and sold by Apple, and also discusses concepts for products that never made it to production. 400 color and b&w illustrations.

A reader from Boston, Massachusetts, USA , December 2, 1998
A beautiful book, badly in need of an editor
This is a beautiful book showing the evolution of Apple's industrial design. Apple is the only company whose industrial design is worth such a book. The history is interesting, and it's fascinating to see how designs evolve.

There are two problems with this book which caused me to give it only 3 stars. The first is that it desperately needs a copy editor. The spelling and grammar errors would be unacceptable from a college freshman. Several times, a reference to a picture gives the wrong plate number. I expect much better from a book on excellent design.

A minor gripe is that it's not clear who the intended audience is. Some technical terms are defined (though for the lay audience it would help to have a couple of pictures to illustrate terms), but many are not. As a lay reader, there were ideas I just didn't get, even as I appreciated the beauty of the work they described.

If these two problems were fixed, I would give it 5 stars.

Omid Keshtkar (dragoonmaster@hotmail.com) from Chicago, USA , October 22, 1998
A must for any Apple evangelists out there!
You have to wonder where Apple went wrong? This book is a doorway to Apple's genius. Since the very begining Apple had designs that blew people away and to this day they are still amazing. The iMac is a fine example of Apple's Design Group. Let's hope Apple will continue this. BTW the book is WONDERFUL! BUY IT!!!

thomasu@dga.com from New York, NY , April 19, 1998
Recommended in spite of abysmal editing
The other reviews here already cover the important content issues and the fact that a document such as this is a godsend in so many ways. As a lover of both Apple technology and great ID, I've found it impossible to put this book down. However, I'd just like to put in my .02 that this book is BADLY in need of a copy editor and a second edition. I'd be able to forgive the technical errors (e.g., stating that the Quadra 9X0s share the Quadra 800's form factor) if it weren't for typos and "write-os" ON EVERY SINGLE PAGE! It's as though they ran spell check, pressed Command-P, and never looked at the copy again. Honestly, I didn't think I was going to be able to finish this book, the copy quality being as embarassingly bad as it is. I've finally settled on pretending that I've been sent a galley, and that all the errors will be excised before the "real" version ships. One other gripe, then I'm done: A lot of the photos were scanned at too low a resolution to be used at the sizes in which they appear. There are noticeable "stair-stepping" patterns on many of the pieces, particularly when the "Snow White" striping appears at an angle. I could do a better job on my home Mac (maybe they used a PC, who knows). ;-) Anyway, the book still rocks, you should buy it right now, etc. But if you're one of those annoying people like me who expect Apple-like quality in things like editing, you've been warned.

rbj@lightspeed.net from Bakersfield, California , February 9, 1998
Apple's computers are truly the works of artists. It's a 10!
This is a fantastic "insider" look at the work of Apple's Industrial Design Group. Tons of beautiful photography illuminated by intriguing background information on many projects such as "Blackbird" and "PopEye." A must have for any Apple fan-- especially artists and designers! My only disappointment was that we may never see many of these projects! (And i wish there were even MORE photos and concept art!)

owl@bigfoot.com from San Francisco, CA , September 17, 1997
Fascinating insider's look at Apple, marred by typos
Anyone who appreciates fine industrial design will treasure this behind-the-scenes look at Apple's celebrated and award-winning Industrial Design Group. Paul Kunkel's detailed text chronicles Apple's numerous product innovations including every significant computer, printer, and peripheral from the original Apple II to the Twentieth Anniversary Macintosh. Of Rick English's more than 400 full-color photos, most fascinating are those depicting prototypes never before seen by the public. The only thing detracting from this pricy ($45), oversized paperback book (288 pages) is the unbelievable number of typos, which are particularly glaring considering Apple's dominance in desktop publishing. To find out what other books Owen Linzmayer recommends, please visit: <http://www.netcom.com/~owenink/reviews.html/>