
A photo history of Frog, the company that designed the original Mac - microwavecamera
https://www.theverge.com/design/2019/6/26/18758789/apple-mac-design-snow-white-frog-polk-photo-essay
======
reaperducer
_Frog designed AT &T’s digital answering machine in 1990, the model 1337._

I remember that answering machine quite well. It was one of the first digital
answering machines, and very well made. Beautiful, compared with other
answering machines of the day.

I bought one for myself, and my girlfriend broke up with me because I hadn't
bought anything for her in a very long time. I wasn't a very good person back
then.

~~~
notzuck
Sounds like you dodged a bullet with the gf.

~~~
asutekku
Nah. It all boils down to attention. If you have not treated your girlfriend
in a while and buy stupidly expensive answering machine, that shows where the
priorities are.

~~~
noir_lord
It's a complex area, I make much more than my partner so I try to keep things
balanced, treat her to Metallica tickets, a nice hotel and a few days in a big
city neither of us has been too.

Picked up my Oculus Rift S on the way back.

I don't do it to keep score or anything, I like treating her as her been happy
makes me happy.

~~~
asutekku
Of course one shouldn’t keep score or anything, that’s unhealthy on the long
run and one should treat themselves once in a while. But showing affection
even if it is by sometimes buying something is appreciated. And i speak this
from an experience similar to the grandfather.

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armadsen
This is mostly great, and I wish I could visit the exhibit.

But the headline is just wrong. Frog Design did not design the original Mac.
Jerry Manock did. Frog Design created the Snow White design language first
used on the Mac with the Mac II and Mac SE.

~~~
jdswain
And the Mac SE wasn't introduced in 1984 as the article says, the original
Macintosh (128) was introduced then, designed by Jerry Manock as the parent
says. The Mac SE and Mac II were introduced in 1987, after the 512, Plus and
512Ke.

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tomcam
I find virtually all of these, and especially the original Mac design [1],
pleasing even now. Do they look hilarious to younger generations? I’m guessing
yes...

[http://oldcomputers.net/macintosh.html](http://oldcomputers.net/macintosh.html)

~~~
yellowapple
I really like that Lisa design concept. Kinda wish 8.5"×11" screens caught on
(or maybe slightly bigger to allow for some margins around the page).

~~~
tomcam
right with you on that one. I’m kind of surprised that the 8.5x11 form factor
didn’t become the norm with flat screens, TBH.

------
aresant
More early protos in the same spirit:

1) A proto Mac LC from IDEO \-
[https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/21652/lot/188/](https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/21652/lot/188/)

2) Several other unused protos from Hartmut Esslinger @ FROG -
[https://www.engadget.com/2014/05/28/an-apple-flip-phone-
from...](https://www.engadget.com/2014/05/28/an-apple-flip-phone-
from-1984-and-a-tablet-from-1979/)

~~~
adolph
From the description of the LC prototype:

 _has a vertically-oriented screen not used on any production models.
Considering the screen orientation, this very well could have been a prototype
for a model targeted toward the business world, rather than the artistic,
publishing and educational markets that the Mac traditionally attracted._

Clearly the writer never saw the Portrait Display, which was extensively used
in desktop publishing. I loved mine.

[http://myoldmac.net/SELL/apple-
portraitmoni.htm](http://myoldmac.net/SELL/apple-portraitmoni.htm)

~~~
rbanffy
Was it possible to pair the portrait monitor with the LC?

~~~
adolph
Maybe, maybe not. The LC was very low performance, even compared to the pokey
IIsi I first had the monitor connected to.

~~~
rbanffy
I ask that because the mock up is for a computer called "LC". Maybe the screen
was supposed to be a color one. It looks a bit like the color classic.

------
statictype
We went to frog to design some of our interfaces. Their closest office was in
Shanghai - I was surprised at the quality and depth of the team there.

They were very process driven but also very creative - the first time I've
actually seen both of those work well together.

~~~
ahartmetz
I've worked on an embedded user interface according to a spec by frog. It was
great fun because, among other things, the UI described by the spec was nice
and good looking, and the spec left no important open questions. The customer
paid for frog so I don't know how much it cost, but probably a whole lot.
Anyway, if somebody asks for high quality UX/UI design, I recommend frog.

~~~
statictype
They are expensive - but they care about the work they do and are very good.

------
abakker
Interesting to note that Frog got a new owner yesterday - they are now part of
CapGemini, through the acquisition of Altran.

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rongenre
Wikipedia link: [https://bit.ly/2ZJLGPi](https://bit.ly/2ZJLGPi) (because HN
isn't dealing with a period at the end of the URL)

------
whenchamenia
The article is full of examples of making the product worse to boost sales.
Not a fan of this race-to-the-bottom engineering, no matter how 'iconic'.

------
twic
We've got those turrets at work! I would never have guessed they were by the
same company as the early Macs!

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throwaway-1-2-3
Somewhat fitting then, that Frog also led the redesign of DisneyWorld.com in
2010

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DigitalTerminal
That foam model is just gorgeous!

------
HillaryBriss
intriguing to suggest that Steve Jobs/Apple considered themselves a fairy tale
"Wicked Queen" who sat in a throne and had the power to apply judgment to
others.

i don't know if that was actually true about Apple, but some other large
corporations seem to view themselves in exactly that way. they treat their
potential business partners and vendors as if they were beastly suitors of
infinite patience invested with nothing but a powerful lust for a signed
contract.

~~~
okcando
There's a wicked queen in the story to be sure but it isn't Snow White, who
grows up to be the "fairest in the land" and isn't a jerk about it.

It's just a name for the style that suggests it's very beautiful and yet
understated.

