Funny, "interesting" stuff...
I've been going through my iPhoto library the past couple of nights, tightening up my Faces and Places info, adding captions and titles, applying some ratings, throwing out stuff, etc. I came across a big album of mockups. I picked my favorite 16 (based on comedic value
or "holy crap, I was three years ahead of the curve!" reasons) and thought I'd share them here.
A neat look back, to a simpler, fruit-colored time...
A few notes of interest and/or some background, in order:
1) For some reason, I was dead certain "Pineapple" was going to be a new fruit "flavor" rolled out by Apple. It bugged me that yellow was never represented during that 1999 fruit-heavy era. But "Banana" just seemed silly, and they obviously weren't going to attach the name "Lemon" to any of their products. So what was the only sensible alternative? Pineapple, of course. I drew this in 1999, obviously after the iMac DV release in early October...hence the iMac 3 name, and the inclusion of the color-ringed slot-loading drive.
2) Obviously I was on drugs or some sort of medication (if you notice, a lot of my mockups from back then had "finger/hand comfort" playing a prominent role.
Wonky body shape aside, I was a solid 1-2 years ahead of the color screen/photos on the iPod thing (
and with a screen even a bit larger than the 5G video iPod).
3) One of my favorites! The 13" MacBook, three years before we ever knew there would be such a thing. Okay, I left out the iSight (and I had the processor completely wrong), but come on...
4) Influenced, obviously, by the iPod mini. I still like it, in a weird way.
5) I took a lot of crap for this one ("looks like one of those document copiers!"), but I still kinda like it. It certainly won't ever tip over! And I included my original hand-drawn doodles I used as the starting point. This was three months before the September 2004 introduction of the iMac G5 in Paris, and we were all wondering "what's going to replace the iMac G4 sunflower?!" Obviously not this...
6) iBook 2001 (with integrated ComFynger® technology
). I found myself on a serious Key Lime kick around this period. This was pre-white square iBook, so I was still working off the curvy, colorful stylings of the original "toilet seat" iBooks. I actually wouldn't mind one of these, to tell you the truth. Yeah, it's a bit "Fisher-Price". But so were the original iBooks...
7) Okay, dammit...I
still think iContact is an awesome name for such a product. My original Illustrator file shows a creation date of 1/29/2000, so this was before the iPod and all the things it came to be. I was a little ambitious on the OS being used, but some of those features are pretty damn cool (and have popped up in various products) in the 10 years since. Note presence of ComFynger® tech. Again.
8) No explanation/background needed...the mockup/included text says it all.
9) If I had to choose, probably my all-time favorite mockup. I put a lot of thought and detail into it.
If you took an iMac DV, Key Lime iBook and a 15" acrylic Studio Display and put them into Seth Brundle's contraption, you'd get this. I love it. Note the included "Apple Wireless Pro Keyboard & Mouse"...it finally happened!
10) Damn, there's that ComFynger®
again! Based heavily on the "toilet seat" stylings of the iBook, but doused with silver and graphite and given a G4. The serious, "pro" kick-ass version of #6.
11) I liked the G5-inspired "ribbon of aluminum" frame/base on this.
12) My shark fin iMac! Laugh if you want, but it did win Engadget's "design the iMac G5" contest (I won a Griffin iPod charger cradle thingie) prior to the iMac G5's September 2004 release. I did enjoy using the handdrawn, varying "brushstroke" look in Illustrator for this. But looking back, it's just...well, idiotic.
13) My second entry into the above contest. Like an italic "L". Nice and clean. I always liked it.
14) Illustrator file is showing a creation date of 12/31/04 (sad to think that's probably how I spent my New Year's Eve). So this was pre-Mac mini. I was onto something. I just had it standing the wrong way...
15) This shows a creation date of 1/3/05, so during that 2004-2005 transition, I was obviously obsessed with vertical, rounded-corner headless Macs. The Mac mini was unveiled later that month at Macworld(?), so there must've been lots of talk and rumors going around at the time about a small "headless" Mac, and #14 and #15 was me trying to predict something. I was 30% there...I got the slot-loading drive right! And the price.
16) Too funny not to include. I was obviously drinking at the time...
"What if you took a G4 Cube and made it not a Cube, but a...well, a cylinder!"
*gulp*gulp*gulp Good grief...