One should really give it to Apple for turning the recently published Designed by Apple in California, into something more than a book. Tapping the expertise of its creative team and its chief design officer Jony Ive, the company just produced a new video that serves to elevate the 450-page tome into some artifact that captures Apple's very essence itself.
Apple Book Video Promotion
Ive, has probably summed up everything about the book and the video when he declared that there is an imperative to understand the process behind the creation of an object in order to fully appreciate it.
"You understand the nature of an object so much more, when you understand how it came to be," Ive said.
He then proceeded on saying that the each picture contained in the coffee table book represents the many stories behind Apple's products that collectively define what Apple is as a company today.
The video was first shown to a group of Japanese magazines.
On Apple Craftsmanship
The video also touts an artisan-like quality to each Apple product, citing a small group of creative artists hammering away in some workshop tucked somewhere at Cupertino. The narrative will make you feel like an iPhone or an iPad has been custom-made especially for you and your discriminating taste.
Apple's devices are, of course, mass produced by offshore facilities such as those owned by Foxconn in China. Ive has been largely talking about the team involved in product design.
Certainly, the video provides some insights into the product development process at Apple. A number of those cited such as the development of numerous prototypes and the manufacture of new tools to be used for the manufacture of new concept are not entirely novel since such strategies are also employed by other manufacturers.
A Peek At The Apple Workshop
What should be interesting for Apple watchers, however, involves the more mundane fact that the video showed the interior of Apple's so-called workshop. If the footages were indeed taken from the actual workplace of Apple's design team and not some contrived movie set, then that would be quite awesome.
One should notice that color scheme of the interior design has been dominated by white, underscoring Apple's obsession for minimalism and control. Without certain design elements that served to infuse refinement and color, Apple's workplace teetered toward the clinical, recalling an atmosphere of a hospital.
Book Availability, Pricing
If you are in the market for a gift this holiday season, the Designed by Apple in California could be a perfect gift to friends who are hardcore Apple enthusiasts. The bigger book will cost you $299 while its smaller variant sells for $100 less. You should be able to snag one at any Apple Store or simply have the book shipped to your doorstep by ordering at the online Apple Store.