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Snow White design language

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	Topics Snow White design language Topic Home The Snow White design language was an industrial design languageDesign language A design language is an overarching scheme or style that guides the design of a complement of products or architectural sett... developed by Frog DesignFrog design inc. frog design is an internationally renowned creative consultancy.... founded by Hartmut EsslingerHartmut Esslinger Hartmut Esslinger is a German industrial designer.... . It was used by Apple ComputerFacts About Apple Computer Apple Computer, Inc. is an American computer technology corporation with worldwide annual sales in its fiscal year 2005 of... from 1984 to 1990. It is characterised by vertical and horizontal stripeSTRIPE S.T.R.I.P.E. is a fictional superhero in the DC Comics universe.... s acting as decoration and occasionally ventilationVentilation (architecture) Ventilation is movement of air, typically between an indoor space and the outside.... , as well as creating the illusionOptical illusion Overview An optical illusion characterized by visually perceived images that, at least in common sense terms, are deceptive or mislea... of the computer enclosure being smaller than it actually is. History The Apple IIcApple IIc The Apple IIc, the fourth model in the Apple II series of personal computers, was Apple Computer's first endeavor to produce... computer was the very first Snow White design along with the various peripherals and accessories designed for it. Initially Snow White debuted in a creamy off-whiteCream (colour) Cream is the colour of the cream produced by cattle grazing on natural pasture with plants rich in yellow carotenoid pigment... color known at Apple as Fog but later other products moved to the warm gray "Platinum" color, lighter than the previous Apple "puttyBeige box In consumer computer products, a beige box is a standard personal computer.... " color, used throughout the Apple product line from 1987 on. Though Hartmut EsslingerHartmut Esslinger Hartmut Esslinger is a German industrial designer.... favored a bright-white color originally for the IIc (which Jerry ManockJerry Manock Jerry Manock is an industrial designer, known for creating the enclosures of the Apple II and Macintosh personal computers.... successfully argued against, claiming it would attract fingerprints), the Snow White code-name had little to do with color. Rather, Snow White refers to the 7 projects code-named after the 7 Dwarfs on which the new design language was to be applied. Several designers were courted by Apple under the Snow White project to see what they would come up with for the 7 products (of which there were actually 8). The "winner" ultimately was Esslinger and the resulting "style" assumed the project's code-name. Nevertheless, Esslinger who detested the original Apple beige-color, insisted all Snow White-styled products use the same off-white color as the IIc. Until the change to Platinum no Snow White designs appeared in any other color, except for the Hard Disk 20SCHard Disk 20SC Not to be confused with the Apple Macintosh Hard Disk 20, the first hard drive manufactured by Apple exclusively for the origi... in order to better match the beige-color of the Macintosh PlusMacintosh Plus The Macintosh Plus computer was the third model in the Macintosh line, introduced two years after the original Macintosh and... for which it was designed to sit beneath. The Snow White language was gradually phased out as it was adapted by the Apple Industrial Design GroupApple Industrial Design Group The Apple Industrial Design Group is the industrial design arm of Apple, Inc.... beginning in 1990. Design features The distinguishing characteristics originated by the Snow White design language, in contrast to the original Apple industrial design style, include the following: minimal surface texturing colored a light off-white (Fog) or light gray (Platinum) inlaid 3-dimensional Apple logo, diamond cut to the exact shape zero-draft enclosures, with no variances in case thickness and perpendicular walls recessed international port identification icons silk-screened product name badging shallow horizontal and vertical lines, 2 mm wide, 2 mm deep, spaced 10 mm apart on center, which run along any and all of the surfaces of the product, some of which act as vents and setback 30 mm from the front and 4 mm from the back. Fog products have beige accents and cables, Platinum products have uniform color (no accents) and Smoke gray cables 3mm radius, rear and 2mm radius, front corners simple unadorned ports and slots Any or all of these features indicate a Snow White Frogdesign influence over an otherwise Apple designed product. In particular the first official implementation, the Apple //cApple IIc The Apple IIc, the fourth model in the Apple II series of personal computers, was Apple Computer's first endeavor to produce... does not represent the complete set of design elements, while the Macintosh IIMacintosh II Headline text The Apple Macintosh II was the first personal computer model of the Macintosh II series in the Apple Macintos... includes all of them. Later, the Macintosh LCMacintosh LC The Macintosh LC was Apple Computer's product family of low-end consumer Macintosh personal computers in the early 1990s.... began to phase out some of the design elements. Legacy In 1982, Apple sought to establish itself as a world-class company. As a result they chose to look outside the company and indeed the country for a designer who might help them achieve that kind of recognition. The Snow White project helped them achieve just that. The resulting design language created by Frog and Esslinger not only helped Apple's recognition factor on a world stage, but the innovative designs helped mold the way computers were perceived throughout the manufacturing and business world. As a direct result of these designs Apple set trends for the entire industry which often copied both its warm gray Platinum color as well as its Snow White designs. In addition to its recognizable style, the Snow White design language, if not Esslinger himself (who detested the beige color Apple used), is responsible for Apple's change of color throughout its product line. But more importantly, Esslinger redesigned Apple's product badging methods by creating a 3-dimensional Apple logo that was inlaid directly into the product case, with the product name printed directly onto its surface. This one stylistic feature persists to this day on virtually every Apple product and copied universally throughout the industry as well. Unofficial Designs The Lisa 2Apple Lisa The Apple Lisa was a revolutionary personal computer designed at Apple Computer during the early 1980s.... /Macintosh XLMacintosh XL The Macintosh XL was a modified version of the Apple Lisa personal computer made by Apple Computer.... (1984) had Snow White stripes added to the front bezel redesign along with the inlaid Apple badging four months before the Apple //c was introduced, technically making it the first Snow White product. The Apple Modem 300/1200 (1985) was updated from Apple beige to Fog and the inlaid Apple badging was added. The Macintosh PlusMacintosh Plus The Macintosh Plus computer was the third model in the Macintosh line, introduced two years after the original Macintosh and... (1986) was updated by Frogdesign, but only added the inlaid Apple badging and recessed connector icons. The Macintosh 800K External Drive (1986) only included the inlaid Apple badging and simple floppy disk slot styling as well as the 2 and 3mm radius corners and zero draft enclosure. The Macintosh IIcxMacintosh IIcx Half a year following the release of the Macintosh IIx passed before Apple introduced the Macintosh IIcx in 1989.... (1989) was designed in-house entirely by Apple and though drawing upon the Snow White corporate language, departed considerably from the guidelines. This was the beginning of Apple's efforts to break ties with Frogdesign and rebuild the Industrial Design Group. The Macintosh IIciMacintosh IIci The Apple Macintosh IIci was an improvement on the Macintosh IIcx.... (1989) basically the same case as the IIcx with different internal hardware. Macintosh LCMacintosh LC The Macintosh LC was Apple Computer's product family of low-end consumer Macintosh personal computers in the early 1990s.... (1990) Macintosh LC II (1992) Macintosh Quadra 700Macintosh Quadra 700 The Macintosh Quadra 700 was introduced in October 1991, as Apple's first computers to use the Motorola 68040 processor, as ... (1991) PowerBook 100/200 SeriesPowerBook Overview The PowerBook is a line of Apple Macintosh laptop computers that was designed, manufactured and sold by Apple Computer from ... (1991) Macintosh Quadra 900Macintosh Quadra 900 The Macintosh Quadra 900 is a high-end personal computer introduced with the Quadra 700 in October 1991 as Apple Computer's ... (1991) Macintosh Quadra 950Macintosh Quadra 950 Overview The Macintosh Quadra 950 was the third desktop computer in Apple Computer's Quadra line.... (1992) PowerBook Duo DockPowerBook Duo The PowerBook Duo was a line of small subnotebooks manufactured and sold by Apple Computer from 1992 until 1997 as a more co... (1992) Macintosh LC II (1992) Macintosh IIsiMacintosh IIsi The Macintosh IIsi was a compact 3-box desktop unit, effectively a cut-down Macintosh IIci in a smaller case, made cheaper b... (1993) Macintosh LC III (1993) Macintosh LC III+ (1993) Macintosh LC 475 (1993) Apple Workgroup ServerApple Workgroup Server Apple Workgroup Server and, later, Macintosh Server, were the names given to selected models of Macintosh computers wh... 95 (1993) Apple Workgroup Server 9150Workgroup Server 9150 The Apple Workgroup Server 9150 is not directly based on a Power Macintosh.... (1994) Both the 100 & 200 series PowerBooks and accessories were intended to tie into the rest of the Apple desktop products utilizing the corporate Snow White design language. However, the light colors and decorative recessed lines did not seem appropriate for the scaled down designs. In addition to adopting the darker grey colour scheme which co-ordinated with the official corporate look, they also adopted a raised series of ridges mimicking the indented lines on the desktops. These early PowerBooks would be the last to utilize the aging Snow White look and the only ones to make such a radical adaptation of it. See also Timeline of Macintosh models List of products discontinued by Apple Inc. External links (first Snow White machine)