Apple Stores & John Maeda @ RISD
To modify the thread of Things Apple Is Doing Right and start discussing Things Apple is Doing Differet, have you noticed that the displays in Apple retail stores are based around the Mac OS interface? Take a look at this scene from inside one of the stores and you'll notice on the walls that the Aqua UI has been used to present the various things the mac can do: watch DVDs, send email, burn CDs, &c. In the front window of the store are, essentially, huge screen shots from the iPod that have been edited very carefully to depict a range of possible uses. The list of playlists includes things like "Jogging" and "Best 5 song ever" (if I remember correctly) as well as a sampling of artist names. This is important: Apple is at once highlighting the UI of their products, known for their ease of use, while at the same time producing a sort of under-the-radar advertisment. Simply, we don't expect to see advertisments imbeded into the windows of our desktop OS or the menus on a handheld MP3 player. But these aren't advertisments as we know them, they're something more akin to lifestyle suggestions. In this way the displays at Apple Stores don't "say" anything so much as they affirm assumptions people are left to make on their own: people who have iPods like eclectic music, people that use Mac OS X get lots of email, watch good movies, and make devastatingly cool home videos; they take more (and better) pictures, they have better looking apartments, and they're nicer. Very tricky, Apple. Very tricky (smart and subtle), indeed.
While sitting in the studio eating lunch, a friend came by and complained about a lecture he had to go to that afternoon. "It's some guy from the media lab." Upon prodding I learned that John Maeda would be giving the lecture. To think, I almost missed this and it was happening in the architecture building right on RISD's campus!
Some notes:
He speaks very fast.
"Every current artist who says they hate computers has a secret computer room labeled 'top secret' where it's ok to use computers."
ethernet cables = building tumors?
The computer is not a tool, it's a material.
Eye Meat vs. Eye Candy
Both visible and invisible things happen on computers, the latter often being forgotten.
"If you can draw it by hand faster then you shouldn't use a computer. That's just stupid."
A really cool coffee table
Smaller chips and computer-on-a-chip will allow for interesting developments in place technology. How will we interact with places? How will places react to us?
"How do you combat bureaucracy?"
"Wait until the people in power die."
Think Create Educate Enjoy
tasteful vs. tasty.
John Maeda was one of the best lecturers I've ever seen. Even when he was essentially reading from his book it was very entertaining. An interesting side note was seeing a lot of RISD bigwigs there. Is Maeda being considered to head up the new digital media dept here at RISD?
Oh, one more thing, it's Not August Anymore.
--Posted 01/18/02 03:34AM