03/22, 1:30am
Progress made from standoffs with former iOS head Forstall
Following his promotion to head of both hardware and software design at Apple, Sir Jonathan Ive is said to be regularly meeting with Human Interface head Greg Christie and the mobile software teams and is said to be favoring a more cohesive "flat" design for the overall look of the next generation of Mac and iOS software. Ive's efforts will likely be seen in the next major revisions of the two operating systems, and are not expected en masseanytime soon -- but subtle hints of change in the air can be seen even now.
more
02/19, 9:40am
Localizing feedback, distinct cooling system among innovations
A clever way of making sure haptic vibratory feedback is restricted to a specific area, the overall design of the Retina MacBook Pro and the structure-strengthening design of the RMBP's vents have all been given patent protection by the US Patent and Trademark Office. The latter patent complements one already awarded earlier for the asymmetrical fans used in the RMBP to suppress fan noise, while the haptic feedback patent hints at future changes for iOS devices.
more
01/07, 10:56pm
Covers 'human-centric design,' Jobs, cancer, more
CBS' news magazine show 60 Minutes has run an interview hosted by Charlie Rose with longtime design guru and close friend of Steve Jobs, David Kelley. Kelley, who started the design firm IDEO, was the man behind Apple's original mouse and many other designs over the years. He is now head of his own school of "human-centric" design principles and recounted his friendship with Jobs, his struggle with cancer and other challenges in the interview.
more
12/28, 1:56am
Apple had phone, tablet, MacBook designs very early on
A new book by the founder of Apple's first "in-house" design contractor, frog design, brings back memorable photos of many early Apple prototypes, including a (corded) phone with an LCD display that could also send email, a stylus-driven tablet, a dual-flatscreen workstation and a MacBook portable notebook -- all designed in the early 80s. German designer Hartmut Esslinger has included many prototypes in his latest book, Design Forward.
more
04/27, 2:15am
Bests WWW inventor Berners-Lee, JK Rowling, more
After being mentioned as on the shortlist last week, Sir Jonathan Ive has now been awarded the British Visionary Innovator award, a competition run by the Intellectual Property office in the UK to promote IP awareness. Ive was up against some very notable competition, including Sir Tim Berners-Lee who invented the World Wide Web; fellow industrial designer and engineer Sir James Dyson, and even Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling.
more
04/16, 6:20pm
Has not explained discrepancy in quotes
French designer Philippe Starck has finally confirmed that his initial quotes about a "revolutionary" Apple product that will come out "in eight months" were in fact about his long involvement in designing a yacht for the Jobs family, the Wall Street Journal reports. The yacht, which began life as a project for Steve Jobs during a brief break in his illness almost a decade ago, will be completed by his widow Laurene, Starck said.
more
01/13, 8:15pm
Friend Lee Clow will present legendary ads
The One Club, a non-profit professional organization for recognizing excellence in the advertising and design industries will induct Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, along with creative talent Paula Green and commercial director Joe Pytka, into its Creative Hall of Fame on January 17th at a ceremony in New York City. Chiat/Day and TBWA/Media Arts Lab pioneer Lee Clow, himself a Hall of Famer, will present some of the 100 Apple ads or designs that have received One Club awards.
more
10/24, 10:00pm
The pair worked closely, particularly on packaging
As more details and tidbits from the Walter Isaacson-penned biography of Steve Jobs pour out, one of the voices not much mentioned in early reports but who plays an increasingly prominent role at Apple is that of the man Jobs often described as his "best friend" and which Isaacson refers to as his "soul mate," Apple Vice President of Design Jonathan "Jony" Ive. The picture he paints of Jobs is one of a close friend, relentless manager, and a bit of a credit-stealer.
more
05/26, 7:30pm
60s design for Braun influenced Apple products
German designer and "product architect" Dieter Rams, whose iconic work in the 1960s on such products as the Vitsoe 606 shelving system and Braun's hi-fi and kitchen appliances are still widely influential on designers such as Apple's Jonathan Ive, was recently interviewed by Fast Company Design and shared his thoughts on modern disposability, the principles of good design and the importance of having a company that values lasting, elegant design.
more
01/06, 11:25pm
Home design arrives on Mac
Punch Software (Booth No. 3526 N) has released Home and Landscape Design Studio for the Mac at the Macworld Expo . The software offers a QuickStart system to help users design a home quickly, a Going Green service with information to help build an energy efficient home, and a new object library for more realistic 3D modeling. The software is geared to help users save time and money when building a home.
more
07/02, 9:05am
SLimKey V2 stand released
Macessity on Wednesday announced SlimKey V2, a new display stand with an integrated powered USB 2.0 Hub. Designed to match Apple's Cinema Display, the SlimKey sports an 'Apple centric' powder coated aluminum finish. Macessity says the stand can support up to 35 pounds, has an easily accessible 4-port side access USB 2.0 hub, and a recessed storage space suitable for Apple's new 'slim' keyboard. Shipping with a compact power adaptor and USB 2.0 cable included, the SlimKey V2 is priced at $65 and available to pre-order now.
more
06/06, 12:35am
Avery DesignPro for Mac
Avery on Wednesday unveiled the finalized version to its DesignPro software, its label and stationery designing and printing application. Being an avery product, the company includes over 1300 pre-designed layouts for their paper products, allowing users to quickly create business labels, CD labels, and more. The final version also includes over 2000 clip art and photo images for use with projects. Users can download DesignPro for free, directly from Avery's website.
more
06/03, 5:25pm
WebScripter 2.0
The Alchemist Guild has announced the release of WebScripter 2.0, a new release of the integrated development environment (IDE) for programming in several popular web scripting languages such as: PERL, PHP, CSS, HTML/XML, JavaScript and Ruby. The tool offers features including: text editing, previewing web pages, testing scripts, managing projects, navigating code and FTP integration. The developer says that in this release, the original concept was scrapped and redesigned from the ground up with a modern OS X GUI using tabs for editing and split views for integrating features into a single window. The new design is "compact, concise and helps to keep the user in close contact with the experience. WebScripter 2.0 is priced at $40.
more
05/16, 4:55pm
Apple wins black pencils
Apple's iPhone recently won two prestigious black pencil design awards at the D&AD Awards in the UK, bringing the company's total to six since first winning the award in 1999. According to The Guardian, this makes Apple the most successful participant in the awards ceremony's 45 year history, this time taking home recognition for the design of the iMac and iPhone. Apple was among five companies who won the black pencil, with 64 yellow pencils also being awarded across 30 categories.
more
04/09, 6:30pm
Solo Urban At Ease bag
Solo today unveiled a new designer bag made for 15-inch laptops called the Urban At Ease Laptop Messenger Bag, constructed from a durable matte canvas fabric, with an oiled leather trim and padded corduroy sleeve. The sleeve stretches to fit almost any 15.4-inch laptop, and features several interior, side, and rear organizers. The Urban At Ease Laptop Messenger Bag is currently available for $95, in either black or olive finish.
more
04/04, 8:10pm
Houdini 3D
Architosh reports that the Windows-based 3D software package, Houdini, is coming to the Mac OS X platform and Houdini for Mac Beta has been announced. The company is looking for beta testers and to get their Mac version in the hands of as many 3D professionals as possible. The developer says "With the recent redesign of the Houdini user-interface (UI), the program has become much more artist-friendly, claims the company, making it a great fit for the Mac. Apple's switch to Intel processors has also been a factor in developing a native Mac version."
more
