Design of Mass Production: My Mac

Mass production is all around us, just about everything that we come in contact on a daily basis has been designed for a specific person and for a specific consumer. So for this blog, when I started thinking about what mass produced object I would write about, the answer came quickly; I'll write about what I use to write: my MacBook.

The film Objectified spent an entire segment devoted to Apple and the design of their products. Apple is a company that is, seemingly, first and foremost concerned with the look and design of their products. But beyond looking pretty the design of their products actually adds to and compliments the functionality of the object. The power indicator light was highlighted in the film as a functional piece of design. Another that comes to mind quickly is the use of the magnetic power cord port. This solved the problem of people breaking their computers because someone would trip on a wire and the whole thing would fall. Now if someone trips on the wire, the cord immediately releases from the computer. Cord comes out but the computer remains unmoved. The sleek body and white color add to the overall look of the computer. Apple designed not just a computer that functions but something that looks pretty and that people want to be seen with rather than some big, clunky, black Toshiba laptop (I realize this is sounding a bit like an advertisement for MacBooks, but i really do just love my computer). What is important in the design of this machine is that every in the design has real function and is important to the overall machine. Essentially, less is more here because as more things are added with no real value or even a feature with very little value, the design starts to get too weighed down with unnecessary parts and utilities. It is a well designed machine and in every part of it a consumer can see the care that Apple really puts into the aesthetic and functional design of their products.

*photo from apple.com and my desktop