Wish they would put as much time and effort at Apple as they did here.
WE MISS YOU, STEVE!!!
So they are putting more effort into a one off side project than Apple designs? Seriously? That's what you got from this? Wow .. Some folks here are simply amazing.. And not in a good way.
Did no one check out the other images? It definitely creates a magical space. If you think that Christmas is about multi-colored flashing lights and plastic statues of Santa Claus and reindeer then you're missing the point.
Agree. I am a retired theatre set designer and I find much to appreciate. Whether you are Christian or not, the Christmas symbolic message and its pagan antecedents are harbingers of hope in a period of darkness. A small tree, warmly lit, overshadowed by a cold dark forest, is apt. Especially in these times.
I guess I don't understand the "cold dark forest" comments. But then again I live out in the north country on a farm, and traipsing in the snowy woods at night is a pleasure, not scary at all. It's not cold and not dark (with snow reflecting moonlight), especially if you're riding a horse. Maybe it's just urban dwellers who see it as a negative. I think the display looks nice.
That just looks boring and uninspired. Christmas is a season of celebration and joy (and this is explicitly called the Claridge CHRISTMAS tree installation).
There is nothing about that setup that makes me feel joyful. Complete fail by Ive. Ive is usually really good about tying function and design, but this just looks like some shallow attempt to produce something "chic."
I find this installation very interesting, not for what it fails to accomplish, but rather the bold statement it makes about the future. I agree that it lacks a holiday feel, but I don't agree that it is without joy. It feels like a magical forest to me, like something out of a fairy tale.
The one thing that is completely missing, however, is Christmas. No symbolism. No signs of religion. They say they want to respect tradition (the magical winter glade), but are excited about the future (the brightly lit lone tree, unadorned, unshackled from the old ways). What future do they see? The one free of religion? That's what I see here and I applaud them for their bold interpretation.
Ya, i will bet that Ive was going to decorate that lone tree with iPhones that had a christmas ornament app on them... and the ornaments changed randomly... (could you image 30 or more iPhones hanging on that tree?) /sarcasm
Now my idea just desecrated a heavenly install with crash commercialism...
Lol, is this what christmas is to a few of the commenters?
"Our aim was to create an all-enveloping magical experience that celebrates our enormous respect for tradition while recognising our excitement about the future and things to come.’ This year’s installation is suitably forward-looking with nary a bauble or thread of tinsel to be seen, instead exploring the relationship between nature and technology."
I personally detest what Christmas has become. It creeps up on us earlier and earlier every year, thanks to corporate one-upsmanship. Even the new music is an abomination, with the old crooners and carols creaking ever more with age and irrelevance.
I think Sir Jony and Marc did a splendid job with their Christmas set. Very classy and under-stated elegance. A bit of a "blank canvas" inviting visitors to fill in the blanks with their own imaginings. That's what art should be and do for people.
Xmas is uninspiring to me in all cases. It's a corporate orgy, overlaid on top of a cult's takeover of another cult's holiday that was meant to celebrate the solstice. I'm not sure which holiday is more grotesque: xmas or thanksgiving (National Shame Day II... with Columbus Day being National Shame Day I). I don't see how anyone could really make the season tasteful to me as an educated and conscientious adult that puts a priority on reality, nature, and sustainability (instead of fantastical legends and consumer gluttony/corporate force-feeding).
This cold blue starkness fits the snowy season well enough. I prefer it over xmas clichés, color vomit, and blinking lights. However, it's still a mockery of nature to cut down a tree for no reason other than the self-indulgence of decorating for a cult/consumerist holiday. Surrounding it with fake trees and fake snow is just as tasteless as other tacky xmas display.
Talking about form over function here is ludicrous. What's the "function" of destroying trees and manufacturing plastic garbage (future litter) for decorative "nature objects"?
The more celebrity design announcements that pop up around Jony Ive, the more I see nothing but a caricature of the 1% and of haughty designer stereotypes. He's been contributing to Apple's cringeworthier-by-the-event PR wanking, and presenting bad design (both industrial and software) & poor taste since at least 2013. I'm not impressed with this xmas celebrity showcase of minimalism either. Why is everyone still pretending to be inspired by amateur craft? Austerity and minimalism is a fad that has allowed Ive's obsession with minimalism to grow to a pathological degree. That, and his Apple work since 2013, should not make him a celebrity.
Hmmm.... you start off quite well. Angry, but reasonably reasoned so to speak. But then you kind of over reach and slowly crawl up your own arse. You covered so much ground it is pretty much impossible to retort.
Glad to see Jony expressing himself more publicly in other spaces outside of Apple.
Without his creative partner in tech, Steve—it's clear that Apple is not enough to fulfill his discipline anymore.
He's undisciplined now which is why we have crap like the MacBook Pro and Apple TV. Anyone who does not understand how the entire product line is failing without Steve Jobs is in denial.
Glad to see Jony expressing himself more publicly in other spaces outside of Apple.
Without his creative partner in tech, Steve—it's clear that Apple is not enough to fulfill his discipline anymore.
He's undisciplined now which is why we have crap like the MacBook Pro and Apple TV. Anyone who does not understand how the entire product line is failing without Steve Jobs is in denial.
I hate to agree, but I do. The other day I happened to walk past the Microsoft store in Las Vegas and stopped to check out the Surface. The desktop is very impressive. Very. Impressive enough that I might consider switching after being an Apple customer for 30+ years unless Apple starts to take the desktop seriously again. Being able to push the screen down and touch and draw was awesome. Contrary to what Phil says, touch works quite well on the desktop. The hinge mechanism on the Surface book is also very cool. Both devices lack the overall polish of an Apple device. But if Microsoft keeps at it, I think the next iterations will be on par with, or perhaps even eclipse, Apple in the design department.
Ive should get off his lazy butt and design something worth purchasing. I already axed buying a Watch and MBP this month and I'm using a iPhone 6 going on 3 years old. Perhaps Tim Cook thinks Apple can make up $ selling me 69 cent Lady Gaga tunes?
Puhleeze, They have real work to do. While Apple falls further and further away from its greatness Ive and others fiddle around "expressing" themselves and getting written up in gossip columns for showing up at big events. Enough.
Comments
The one thing that is completely missing, however, is Christmas. No symbolism. No signs of religion. They say they want to respect tradition (the magical winter glade), but are excited about the future (the brightly lit lone tree, unadorned, unshackled from the old ways). What future do they see? The one free of religion? That's what I see here and I applaud them for their bold interpretation.
Now my idea just desecrated a heavenly install with crash commercialism...
Lol, is this what christmas is to a few of the commenters?
I personally detest what Christmas has become. It creeps up on us earlier and earlier every year, thanks to corporate one-upsmanship. Even the new music is an abomination, with the old crooners and carols creaking ever more with age and irrelevance.
I think Sir Jony and Marc did a splendid job with their Christmas set. Very classy and under-stated elegance. A bit of a "blank canvas" inviting visitors to fill in the blanks with their own imaginings. That's what art should be and do for people.