Steve Jobs, the co-founder of Apple and the brilliant mind behind countless technological advances, passed away after a long and public battle with pancreatic cancer at age 56. Jobs's list of patents and innovations is remarkable, ranging from the personal computer and the 'mouse' to various generations of handheld media players and smartphones.
With remarkable foresight, Jobs and his company directed the growth of technology and programming, in turn affecting the way our current society interacts, learns, and communicates. But his accomplishments also enter the realms of retail and design - he managed to take a multi-billion corporation in a time of revolt against big box companies and turn it into a democratic and covetable brand.
As Apple's followers and critics look back on Jobs's oeuvre, it is important to reflect on his influence on the design world, and the way companies now approach retailing their product as a result of his remarkable work.
Apple - A Brief History
Steve Jobs and his high school friend Stephen Wozniak launched what would become the Apple empire in 1976 in a garage in California (the future Silicon Valley). The Apple 1 computer was the skeleton for the Apple 11 desktop computer presented one year later at a technology trade show. 1984 saw the release of the Macintosh computer, and the resignation of Jobs from the company soon after. He would return in 1997 to relieve it from years of lawsuits and weak sales.
The advent of the iMac computer, iPod media player, brick-and-mortar stores, and a slew of digital production software brought Apple back from the ashes and skyrocketed it to be one of the most profitable and popular companies in the world. 2007 brought the shift from computers to electronic mobile devices, and Apple soon put out the iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV.
Each one of these milestones was monumental for the technology world, but it was the attractive design, smart marketing strategies, and knowledge of the consumer that would make Steve Job's company truly effective.
The Apple Logo
Jobs work with designer Rob Janoff to create Apple's logo - a bitten apple taken from the company's original graphic of Isaac Newton under an apple tree. Jobs insisted the logo be in stripes of color to remind users that his computer monitor could reproduce images in color. The logo has since advanced with the company, becoming a sleek silver icon to match the aesthetic of Apple products, but has never changed from its first silhouette.
Snow White Design
When Jobs was working on the "Macintosh Project" in the 1980s, he saw early on the need to make his products look appealing to a consumer. So he hired Hartmut Esslinger to create the “Snow-White” industrial design language that would shape the appearance of Apple products for years. Key aspects of the design included an off-white "fog" color in lieu of musky brown, horizontal and vertical lines to act as vents and to streamline the computer's shape and bulkiness, and sleek and simple ports and faces.
The design language solidified Apple’s global reputation and set design trends for the computer industry for years to come. Though some of these principles have evolved over time, Apple has consistently released beautifully unadorned products, attracting a clientele of artists, designers, and consumers looking to match functionality with design.
Advertising Campaigns
Steve Jobs was an early adapter when it came to the need to appropriately market Apple's releases to the public. In his 1997 keynote speech, Jobs launched the “Think Different” campaign. Black-and-white photographs of influential people such as Yoko Ono and John Lennon, Albert Einstein, and Bob Dylan were graced with the slogan, "Think Different." The strategy followed Job's desire to brand the company as a technology hub for creative minds, allowing the human element to combine with electronics to change the revolutionize we live in.
Popular slogans and commercials continue to be pivotal to Apple's success. "Hello" campaigns like "Say hello to iMac" were later used for the release of the iPod and iPhone. And the company's iTunes/iPod commercials using blocks of bright color and dancing silhouettes catapulted several musicians into the spotlight. Popular examples include CSS, Feist, and the Ting Tings. Once again, simple shapes, minimal design elements and a forward-thinking eye (and ear) kept Apple trendy.
The Apple Store
Apple had been around for decades prior to the opening of its first retail store in 1997, but it was actually a huge risk for the company. Corporations had been shying away from brick-and-mortar stores, investing instead in online retail sites: the supposed future of retail. But Jobs insisted on maintaining a human element to the company; in-person purchases were just as important as online sales. Today, Apple runs over 300 stores and flagships worldwide, all with stainless steel fixings, white floors, glass stairs, and employees sporting black tee shirts. The addition of Genius Bars to serve customers helped advance Apple's customer service reputation, and employees are now able to check out customers using iPhones, eliminating the need for long lines and checkout aisles.
An Apple Legacy
Throughout his career, Jobs forecasted the future of consumer behavior, brand loyalty, retail innovation and advertising. Design principles were just as important as technology, a vision the company must maintain if it is to recover from the loss of one of its visionaries. Something as simple as a lowercased "i" or a Helvetica font defined how we as consumers see Apple, and why we keep coming back to it. Jobs kept his vision consistent, his market global, and his reach decades ahead of the curve, creating a company that will forever impact our society at large.
Sarah Moore - Sarah Moore is an editor for a fashion trend forecasting firm and a freelance writer living in New York City. Sarah studied at Washington ...
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