Just after the September 7th iPhone event, Farhad Manjoo wrote a piece for the New York Times titled, provocatively, “What’s Really Missing From the New iPhone: Cutting-Edge Design”.
An aside: I complained about the Times coverage of that event here.
In his direct response, Gruber walks a very reasoned line, focused on the meaning of design. A fascinating read.
At its core:
Here’s the genius of the black and (especially) jet black iPhones 7. In a very seductive way, they look like something new and desirable. And at the same time, they are instantly recognizable as iPhones. That is what Manjoo and similar-minded I’m-bored-with-Apple’s-designs don’t get. With a highly successful product and brand, new versions need to strike a balance between familiarity, the foundations of the brand, and hot newness. The bored-with-Apple crowd just wants the hot newness.
Absolutely right. Iconic design requires recognizability. A Porsche, an Eames lounge chair, and an iPhone are all iconic designs, all instantly recognizable.
That jet black finish is hot newness, but wrapped around an iconic design.
Read Gruber’s post. It resonates.
Thank you, Mr. Gruber.
Tech journalists often comment on aesthetics as if everything should lookalike Star Trek, where uniforms seldom tear or show wear, where the ship’s bridge is always returned to pristine order once whatever obstacle to the journey was dispensed with.
In reality, in order for a design to be iconic, it must be easily identifiable by the people who inhabit its culture.
Can one easily discern between model years of Ford Mustangs, or GE refrigerators, or any of a countless number of products?
Rolex watches are impossible to date without training. To most people they’re simply Rolex watches.
The desire for a new case design every year speaks much about the lack of aesthetic.
When I read Mango’s piece in the NYT, I knew right away that Apple had a winner, because the only thing that this tech writer was complaining about was the case.
That’s why we can’t have nice things.
Manjoo is one of the snake-oil tech-blogger reasons why I still miss Angry Mac Bastards.