14 DAY TRIAL // NetworkWorld offers a quick look into Adam Lashinsky’s ‘Inside Apple’ which goes on sale today, publishing a few excerpts that discuss Apple’s obsession with product design.
Apple’s obsession with design comes not only from Steve Jobs, but also from Jonathan Ive, the company’s chief designer, according to Walter Isaacson’s biography on the late CEO.
Isaacson quotes Ive as saying, "Steve and I spend a lot of time on the packaging. I love the process of unpacking something. You design a ritual of unpacking to make the product feel special. Packaging can be theater, it can create a story."
Now, Adam Lashinsky reveals even more in his own book, Inside Apple (available today).
“To fully grasp how seriously Apple executives sweat the small stuff, consider this: For months, a packaging designer was holed up in this room performing the most mundane of tasks - opening boxes,” writes Lashinsky.
“One after another, the designer created and tested an endless series of arrows, colors, and tapes for a tiny tab designed to show the consumer where to pull back the invisible, full-bleed sticker adhered to the top of the clear iPod box. Getting it just right was this particular designer's obsession,” reads another excerpt.
“What's more, it wasn't just about one box. The tabs were placed so that when Apple's factory packed multiple boxes for shipping to retail stores, there was a natural negative space between the boxes that protected and preserved the tab,” Lashinsky wrote.
The author not only enjoys relaying these details to the reader, you can almost feel his admiration for the company Steve Jobs built and nurtured: “How a customer opens a box must be one of the last things a typical product designer would consider. Yet for Apple, the inexpensive box merits as much attention as the high-margin electronic device inside.”
Editor’s note Let’s do a little test and see how right Lashinsky is. Did you have the heart to throw away your iPhone / iPad / iPod retail box?