Industral Design Critique: Apple iPod Touch

The iPod Touch is a beautiful piece of good design at work. The 4th Generation version of the product is pictured to the left; the image is borrowed from Apple's website. The overall direction of the device's shape and feel is usually credited to Steve Jobs, most likely with the assistance of Jonathan Ive, the Director of Apple's Industrial Design Group, and a larger team of other designers.

I'm not going to discuss specifications, the AppStore, or anything along those lines. What I'm going to discuss is how the design works.

The elements to consider are Form and Content. Content, in this case, refers to the core element of the device, which is either a mp3 player, or it's a netbook with a built in camera that also plays mp3's - depending on who you ask.

First, harkening back to Objectified, the iPod Touch is built in a way that everything about the device defers to the display. Apart from two buttons and a volume control, the capacitive touch screen is the primary means of interacting with the device, and it takes up as much of the surface area of the product as is reasonable. Internally, it has to contain a Wi-fi antenna, and the new generation also incorporates two cameras, one forward facing, and one at the rear of the device. The front camera is barely noticeable as an opening in the case, while the rear camera is a slightly more visible lens. Each is minimal in size, attracting little attention when not in use. This fits with the philosophy of the device; the screen is everything. To paraphrase Jonathan Ive, a camera is only of value when it's photographing something; the rest of the time, it should be out of the way.

The form of the device is bilaterally symmetrical, but for the presence of the nearly invisible volume control on one side and the camera lens on the back. The polished appearance of the back is smooth to the touch and visually interesting, giving it a sleek look, and the combined black and silver color scheme common to Apple's current product line makes it feel very modern.

iOS in action on the iPhone 4

iOS, the operating system used by Apple's mobile device line, is another element of the good design of this product. Steve Jobs is very fond of using the word, "magical," to describe various Apple products. In as much as certain activities are very easy to do in a very intuitive way, if one invokes Clarke's Third Law, it isn't far off. Of course, I prefer Gehm's Corollary; "Any technology distinguishable from magic is insufficiently advanced." Technology isn't there yet, but it's getting closer.

I personally own the previous model of iPod Touch, and have come to admire the entire line from a technology standpoint, but even more so from the standpoint of good design. The first time I saw one in person, I knew there was something different about it, but I couldn't put it in words. Now I can.

As an additional point of interest, Apple's product line is billed as environmentally friendly. For more information, follow the link.

For additional information about the history of design at Apple, click here, as well as additional information about why Apple design works, and more design tips gleaned from Apple.