While it’s known for attaching big prices to its meticulously designed gadgets, only the most ardent Apple-philes will likely be willing to fork out the $200 (with an extra $100 piled on for the larger version) price tag attached to its new coffee table book, Designed by Apple in California. Like many of its products, the glossy book took eight years to develop, printed notionsally on “specially milled, custom-dyed paper with gilded matte silver edges.”
The book is a tribute to the last two decades of product design and the legacy of Apple’s innovation and dedication to doing it in style. The images displayed in the 450-page tome were all shot by photographer Andrew Zuckerman, recreating the signature minimalist style the company became known for under Steve Jobs’ stewardship.
Along with the colourful photos of the Macbooks, iPhones, and various versions of the iPod, Designed by Apple in California also turns the camera lens on prototypes that failed to make it the production line, as well as the tools required to build them.
“The design studio really is a workshop. We design three-dimensional objects, and we make lots and lots of models and prototypes,” says Jony Ive, Apple’s chief design officer, in the on-brand promotional video. “Designing and making really should be inseparable. For every finished product you see, tools had to be designed, processes had to be created and experimented with.”
