Old IKEA Joke Is Now Apple's Latest $300 Product
Companies making fun of Apple is nothing new. But when a joke becomes a real and quite expensive Apple product, you have to pause, raise an eyebrow, and say what the...
Okay, I’ll get straight to the point. You might not remember this, but back in 2014, IKEA rolled out a video that presents the innovative "bookbook" – an 8mm thin device that weighs less than 400g and comes pre-installed with thousands of furnishing ideas. There are no wires to get in your way, you can browse the interface using tactile touch technology, you can easily bookmark the content you like, and for those who value privacy and security, there’s voice-activated password protection.
Jörgen Eghammer, Chief Design Guru at IKEA, presents the bookbook’s main features in the video embedded below.
So the bookbook isn’t an innovative new device, it’s just a catalog. And so, we get to the new product that Apple unveiled on Tuesday, "Designed by Apple in California."
Designed by Apple in California is a hardbound book that covers 20 years of Apple design. It’s packed with 450 photos that present Apple’s design process as well as its finished products – past and current Apple products, from 1998’s iMac to 2015’s Apple Pencil. The photos were shot in a deliberately spare style by photographer Andrew Zuckerman.
Here's a sample.
“While this is a design book, it is not about the design team, the creative process, or product development. It is an objective representation of our work that, ironically, describes who we are. It describes how we work, our values, our preoccupations, and our goals. We have always hoped to be defined by what we do rather than by what we say,” says Jony Ive, Apple’s chief design officer, in the book’s foreword.
Designed by Apple in California comes in two sizes: a 10.20" by 12.75" small version and a 13" by 16.25" large version. The small one is priced at $199 while the large one is a bit more expensive, priced at $299.
In a press release, Apple explained that for this amount of money you get a linen-bound, hardcover volume printed on specially milled, custom-dyed paper with gilded matte silver edges, using eight color separations and low-ghost ink.
Fancy words aside, the simple truth of the matter is that this is an expensive book of photos. There are no inside stories about the products that are presented, just a bunch photos.
If you're into that and you want to get Designed by Apple in California, you need to know that the book is available exclusively at select Apple Stores and from Apple’s online store in Australia, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, the UK and the US.
Dedicated to the memory of Steve Jobs
Apple’s hardbound design book is dedicated to the memory of its co-founder, Steve Jobs. Jony Ive, Apple’s chief design officer, explains:
"The idea of genuinely trying to make something great for humanity was Steve’s motivation from the beginning, and it remains both our ideal and our goal as Apple looks to the future. This archive is intended to be a gentle gathering of many of the products the team has designed over the years. We hope it brings some understanding to how and why they exist, while serving as a resource for students of all design disciplines."
UPDATE, November 18
Here's a complete video walkthrough of Apple's new design book.
And here's how 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert' made fun on Apple's new design book.
Okay, I’ll get straight to the point. You might not remember this, but back in 2014, IKEA rolled out a video that presents the innovative "bookbook" – an 8mm thin device that weighs less than 400g and comes pre-installed with thousands of furnishing ideas. There are no wires to get in your way, you can browse the interface using tactile touch technology, you can easily bookmark the content you like, and for those who value privacy and security, there’s voice-activated password protection.
Jörgen Eghammer, Chief Design Guru at IKEA, presents the bookbook’s main features in the video embedded below.
So the bookbook isn’t an innovative new device, it’s just a catalog. And so, we get to the new product that Apple unveiled on Tuesday, "Designed by Apple in California."
Designed by Apple in California is a hardbound book that covers 20 years of Apple design. It’s packed with 450 photos that present Apple’s design process as well as its finished products – past and current Apple products, from 1998’s iMac to 2015’s Apple Pencil. The photos were shot in a deliberately spare style by photographer Andrew Zuckerman.
Here's a sample.
“While this is a design book, it is not about the design team, the creative process, or product development. It is an objective representation of our work that, ironically, describes who we are. It describes how we work, our values, our preoccupations, and our goals. We have always hoped to be defined by what we do rather than by what we say,” says Jony Ive, Apple’s chief design officer, in the book’s foreword.
Designed by Apple in California comes in two sizes: a 10.20" by 12.75" small version and a 13" by 16.25" large version. The small one is priced at $199 while the large one is a bit more expensive, priced at $299.
In a press release, Apple explained that for this amount of money you get a linen-bound, hardcover volume printed on specially milled, custom-dyed paper with gilded matte silver edges, using eight color separations and low-ghost ink.
Fancy words aside, the simple truth of the matter is that this is an expensive book of photos. There are no inside stories about the products that are presented, just a bunch photos.
If you're into that and you want to get Designed by Apple in California, you need to know that the book is available exclusively at select Apple Stores and from Apple’s online store in Australia, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, the UK and the US.
Dedicated to the memory of Steve Jobs
Apple’s hardbound design book is dedicated to the memory of its co-founder, Steve Jobs. Jony Ive, Apple’s chief design officer, explains:
"The idea of genuinely trying to make something great for humanity was Steve’s motivation from the beginning, and it remains both our ideal and our goal as Apple looks to the future. This archive is intended to be a gentle gathering of many of the products the team has designed over the years. We hope it brings some understanding to how and why they exist, while serving as a resource for students of all design disciplines."
UPDATE, November 18
Here's a complete video walkthrough of Apple's new design book.
And here's how 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert' made fun on Apple's new design book.
