Cultural Analysis of Apple Design
June 7, 2010 12:56 PM Subscribe
For a few years I've been wondering about Apple's design choices and what they reflect back about our culture, and would like pointers to authors or articles that explore that idea.
More specifically, I like writing where someone takes apart the semiotics of a design and tries to extrapolate what it means in its culture. Many would file such things under BS, but I quite like them. I've searched around, but I get a lot of 'Apple's design rox' posts. I like the design too, but I want to understand what's behind it more from a culture point of view.
More specifically, I like writing where someone takes apart the semiotics of a design and tries to extrapolate what it means in its culture. Many would file such things under BS, but I quite like them. I've searched around, but I get a lot of 'Apple's design rox' posts. I like the design too, but I want to understand what's behind it more from a culture point of view.
Building on that, I guess Apple's design choices mean that the 1960s are back (baby).
posted by 2bucksplus at 1:12 PM on June 7, 2010
posted by 2bucksplus at 1:12 PM on June 7, 2010
Best answer: Adrian Forty's Objects Of Desire doesn't deal with Apple, but it does "[take] apart the semiotics of a design and tries to extrapolate what it means in its culture" par excellence. Highly recommend.
posted by everichon at 1:55 PM on June 7, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by everichon at 1:55 PM on June 7, 2010 [1 favorite]
Following the Jobs formula of design as not just how it looks, but how it works, I thought this post was pretty good: The iPad As Escape Pod.
Responding to the idea that the iPad is a regressive device because it puts people into a passive, non-creative mode, the post suggests that all the "creative" crowd-sourced activity is a kind of immaterial labor that is harvested to generate profits for various web 2.0 companies. The design choices of the iPad limit this activity, emphasizing a "passive" mode where we can read or watch or listen without distraction or being expected to generate interesting reactions via twitter, facebook, blogging, etc. So this is a kind of "liberation", although obviously one that you have to pay to enjoy.
posted by AlsoMike at 2:01 PM on June 7, 2010
Responding to the idea that the iPad is a regressive device because it puts people into a passive, non-creative mode, the post suggests that all the "creative" crowd-sourced activity is a kind of immaterial labor that is harvested to generate profits for various web 2.0 companies. The design choices of the iPad limit this activity, emphasizing a "passive" mode where we can read or watch or listen without distraction or being expected to generate interesting reactions via twitter, facebook, blogging, etc. So this is a kind of "liberation", although obviously one that you have to pay to enjoy.
posted by AlsoMike at 2:01 PM on June 7, 2010
It can be frustrating to look for articles like this on industrial design. It sometimes seems like it exists in a no man's land between graphic design and architecture criticism, both of which are rife with semiotics. Design Observer has touched on this a little. I also recommend Objectified. It may be more introductory than what you are after, but I thought it was really well done for what it is.
I can't find the article now, but I remember reading something a few years ago that compared iPod design to that of hospital equipment. The idea was that hospital equipment has certain functional requirements (e.g. easily sterilized) that give it a distinct aesthetic, and Apple was borrowing this language to evoke cleanliness in its products.
posted by Pork-Chop Express at 8:20 PM on June 7, 2010
I can't find the article now, but I remember reading something a few years ago that compared iPod design to that of hospital equipment. The idea was that hospital equipment has certain functional requirements (e.g. easily sterilized) that give it a distinct aesthetic, and Apple was borrowing this language to evoke cleanliness in its products.
posted by Pork-Chop Express at 8:20 PM on June 7, 2010
Here's the Jonathan Ive bit from Objectified, with some Dieter Rams thrown in at the start.
posted by Pork-Chop Express at 8:24 PM on June 7, 2010
posted by Pork-Chop Express at 8:24 PM on June 7, 2010
Best answer: Sorry, one more response. I haven't read it, but you might enjoy Deconstructing Product Design. This review even sums up why there may be a dearth of this kind of writing: "For a hard-core industrial designer, deconstruction as disassembly might have been more interesting than deconstruction as critical analysis."
posted by Pork-Chop Express at 8:51 PM on June 7, 2010
posted by Pork-Chop Express at 8:51 PM on June 7, 2010
Response by poster: These are quite good so far. Thanks everyone!
posted by holycola at 9:04 AM on June 8, 2010
posted by holycola at 9:04 AM on June 8, 2010
Response by poster: Objects of Desire and Deconstructing Product Design both look like great reads, and I'll likely end up buying both but starting with Deconstructing.
The ipad as regressive device analysis is pretty empty. There are loads of creative apps that I use on mine while doing a lot of reading, and I have no problem getting the info I need to work with on and off the device. It's just Jeff Jarvis et al link and comment bait.
posted by holycola at 9:13 AM on June 8, 2010
The ipad as regressive device analysis is pretty empty. There are loads of creative apps that I use on mine while doing a lot of reading, and I have no problem getting the info I need to work with on and off the device. It's just Jeff Jarvis et al link and comment bait.
posted by holycola at 9:13 AM on June 8, 2010
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posted by holgate at 1:08 PM on June 7, 2010 [1 favorite]