Is the Ives Chapter Over?



Jonathan Ives has an incredible portfolio. But Apple's new displays represent more of the same. That has me wondering if it's time for Ives to go.



Jonathan Ives is wildly popular, at least as far as product designers go. I love his work, so hold off the flames. In fact, the Flat Panel iMac gets my vote for the best designed Mac. . .ever.



But Monday's announcement of the new 20, 23, and 30-inch displays represents a low point in Apple product design. More aluminum, more rectangles, in fact, the only thing missing are the perforation holes (ala G5). The technology behind the displays is the saving grace: these are fantastic displays, it's just that they look like something Dell would ship.



I actually saw a spy photo of the then not-yet-announced G5 about six months before it was released. The gigantic G5 was sitting next to the then currently shipping G4 mini tower. The G4 was dwarfed. When I got past the size, I saw the Powerbook series echoed in the G5's straight lines and uninspired design. When I got to the perforated sides, I remember the first thing I thought of was the ubiquitous stainless steel office waste basket.




On the inside, the G5 is anything but uninspired, but that wasn't enough to distract me from the fact that Apple was moving in the wrong direction. We're getting product design that falls in step with Apple's worst 1984 nightmare. The Powerbooks, the G5s, the iBooks, the iPod, and now the new displays.

All of this design started with the Apple G4 Cube. I love that machine. I bought one. But the square and rectangle theme has come, pardon me, full circle. I'm not calling for the return of the colored iMacs, but I am going as far as to suggest that Jonathan Ives has come to the end of the Apple road. Put the aluminum and the rectangle behind you Steve.




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Posted: Mon - June 28, 2004 at 08:34 AM          

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