Design Pitstop

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Cute. Progressive. Stunning. These are just some of the words used to describe apple and their design aesthetic over the years. Sure, compared to the “beige box” stigma the PC has gotten, they are fantastic pieces of art, just by looking at them. So sleek, so thin, so sexy. But once you get past the $2.50 lucite case, what lies beneath?

Before I go any further, I’ll be the first to say that I’m not the biggest fan of apple. Yes, I own an iPod, and am even proud of it. But I think that’s enough to give me a taste of the mac fanaticism that seems to be running ever more rampant. And, being in the design field, this has garnered many responses along the lines of “wtf, mate?” Yes, I know macs have always been used by graphic designers since the dawn of desktop publishing. However, aside from cultism, I’m not quite sure why. Programs like Photoshop and Illustrator don’t run noticably faster on a G4 than on a comparable PC. Many 3D Programs don’t even run on Mac, and while it’s being slowly replaced by inDesign, don’t even think of running Quark on a Mac. So why do so many designers swear by Mac?

Simple. The design. Everything that comes out of Apple has a beautiful design. Crisp. Clean. Which is great, if you are a fan of post-modernism. If you’re not, tough luck.

Below, we have two computers, a mac and a PC.

Can you spot the difference? Yes, one is a PC built inside of the Millenium Falcon, but aside from that. In macland, one breaks manufacturer warranty, the other does not. Since the only place to get Mac hardware is from apple, prices are higher, and must be installed by apple themselves (RAM excluded) if you don’t want to break warranty. Yes, this is much like Dell and HP, however for PC users hardware purchases are available via OEMs (and many 3rd parties), allowing the building of any kind of case you wish. Whether you have a little Han Solo in ya, or just want to build a wall-mounted PC out of your own laptop, PCs let you truly Think Different.

And isn’t that what design’s all about?

Tags: apple, criticism, i take it back

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