I kind of love how much I've touched a nerve here. Someone in this thread (or lurking in it) even threatened me on another message board where I use the same handle. Hilarious. But a useful example to point to of everything wrong and dismissible about Apple's marketing-driven brand cult. Unmoored children getting
angry because someone has a different opinion about how intrusive brandmarks should be in our personal spaces is high comedy.
Do you think art has value? Any appreciation for whimsy? I enjoy things that light up, and that happiness is valuable to me. I also like colors. If I could buy a pink macbook, I would pay extra for it, because the enjoyment would be valuable to me.
As a working artist (quelle surprise!) yes, I think art can have emotional and intellectual value, among others benefits. But you bringing that up is a distraction. I was pretty clear earlier to say that people should like what they want to like but not to confuse that preference with quantitative
value. That people keep hammering the same point tells me it's more about emotional compliance—People are upset that I don't reflect their preferences.
To which I say, keep digging.
Should all cars look like the Prius because it’s the optimal aerodynamic shape, and be only white to reduce a/c use? The colored paints add nothing of “value”, it’s just a waste of pigment, same as the Space Black and Midnight macbooks, right? Just adds cost with no tangible benefits, they should all be bare aluminum I suppose
Have you noticed how cars, particularly electric ones, are quickly reducing down to a more familiar set of shapes due to the aerodynamic advantages? I'm also old enough to remember when cars used to come in a hugely broader color palette than they do now: Silver, Black, White, Red, Blue. The marketplace clearly doesn't value the sort of panoply you argue for.
What *I* would prefer in my automobiles is immaterial, so appealing to my personal convictions is a waste of time. I already expressed how I feel about some (not all) of Apple's design choices. Again, that seems to be a real problem for some people.
It sounds to me like in your world the iMac G4 and G3 would have never existed, and that would be very sad imo
Let me feed your fantasy: I worked in IT when the bubble iMacs came out. We were primarily an Apple shop (publishing), any
anything new from Apple was welcome, given what sad state the company was in. Their design, however, was an immense distraction. People getting all upset when they didn't get the color they wanted, and Apple requiring us, as a large volume buyer, to purchase in lots of all colors. Design as marketing cudgel.
Yet, I realize the design of the iMac was key to its success. It motivated people to think about Apple differently, beyond the "beige box." And you know why it did that? Because it was a
marketing construct, just like the glowing Apple logo. Funny how Apple doesn't make plastic colored computers anymore, either. Shall we moan for their return as well? Because that's the thing about marketing: it's not about what you're doing, it's about what you do next. Pining for the past is a waste of time, because Apple knows it needs to move forward.
