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Archive for the apple Tag

Susan Kare

Posted by Alex




I was discussing icon design the other day with a friend and Susan Kare’s name came up. She is the brilliant designer behind these classic Mac icons as well as many other high profile user interface projects. We were specifically talking about Facebook’s icons (which I happen to love), and while I’m not sure if she created the original interface icons for the site, I know she was brought on in 2007 to handle the gifts project. Update: Aaron Sittig created many of the most well known 16 x 16px icons that you see throughout Facebook.

Shown above are some of her limited edition prints. Guaranteed to induce nostalgia in just about anyone that was present in the early 90’s (Mac OS 7.5.3 was the best!). If you’ve got any computer type folks left on your shopping lists, THIS is the gift for them.

Also, an interesting read over on Mashable, an interview with Susan Kare:

“It was a challenge to come up with a symbol for the command key. The word is a bit forbidding, as are many types of images that instantly come to mind, such as a police hat or badge. I leafed through a book of symbols, and came across a similar cloverleaf, which was identified as an image used on signs in Swedish campgrounds to mean ‘interesting feature’…Later I learned it is meant to be a castle, seen from above”.

Dodocase

Posted by Scott








Saw the Dodocase today on Engadget and instantly, for the first time, really wanted an ipad. A year ago I would have told you the idea of carrying around a giant Moleskine that disguises a giant iPhone was crazy, but here we are, and I want both. This seems like a pretty cool way to conceal the true geek within; kind of like putting a Triumph motorcycle shell over a Segway. Absolutely love the library card, been seeing that used a lot lately.

On a side note, how many of you are using an iPad? Do you use it solely for entertainment / productivity or are you finding any creative applications for it? I’m pretty sure I’ll be holding off on the iPad at least until the next generation rolls around and the music software matures a bit (really interested in the live applications of a touchscreen interface a’la the Jazzmutant Lemur).

Here’s a video detailing the build process, which is apparently done right here in San Francisco.


Dodocase | Images source

Moog iOS App

Posted by Scott






CDM is reporting on a new iOS based Moog product called Filtatron, “an iPhone Filtering, Effects, and Sampling App”, basically Moogerfoogers on your phone. This is looking pretty amazing interface-wise; very true to the signature Moog aesthetic with the Little Phatty style rotary encoders and soft buttons. From a strictly user experience perspective this must have been a lot of fun to design. It will be interesting to see how it actually sounds compared to the real thing though — I’m going to take a wild guess and say it sounds nothing like a MoogerFooger. Software analog modeling is an imperfect art (or perhaps too perfect); it’s best to think of it as it’s own beast entirely than a faithful representation of the sonic characteristics of a true analog circuit. At any rate it’s interesting to see music technology makers pushing the capabilities of mobile devices. Software like this can may never replace analog hardware, but it would be nice to have the portability and power when you’re away from the studio, even if it comes with a healthy dose of compromise. See also: iRig

Source MatrixSynth via CDM

Apple Magic Trackpad



So Apple has just announced a giant trackpad titled the Magic Trackpad. It supports a full set of gestures; two-finger scrolling, pinching to zoom, rotating your fingertips, tapping is clicking, and so on—you get the idea. Of course it looks amazing because its an Apple product, but I question its practicality among designers/photographers. I get that Apple is trying to push technology into a more physically interactive realm but would you actually use this in replace of your mouse or tablet?

Personally I don’t think I could make the switch. I for one hate the trackpad for lack of control and use a mouse whenever possible. I think if I were to change my setup at all, I would probably have to add a tablet or purchase one of the new 12-Core MacPro’s.

Braun Catalogues

Posted by Scott

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Some very nice vintage Braun Catalogues from Thimet. Looks like Braun’s influence on Apple extends beyond just hardware; I’m pretty sure that last one came with my Macbook. The site also has some great shots of classic Braun calculators (bottom of page) —one of which you will recognize if you’ve ever used the iPhone calculator. My favorite will always be the ET11 though, which clearly influenced the Omron 86R’s design.