Seven Days Vermont has published an interview with Jerry Manock, the designer of both the original Apple II and the first all-in-one Macintosh. As described in Walter Isaacson’s biography Steve Jobs, Manock (pictured below, far right) was commissioned by Jobs to create a design for the Apple II. Manock designed almost the entire product: the structure, shape, aesthetics, thermal design, and choice of Pantone 453 beige for the case color were all his doing, with Steve Wozniak designing the logic board and other circuitry. Jobs was reportedly delighted with Manock’s work, later hiring him as the Corporate Manager of Product Design.
A profile of Jerry Manock, the designer behind the Apple II
Seven Days Vermont has profiled Jerry Manock, the designer behind the Apple II.
Seven Days Vermont has profiled Jerry Manock, the designer behind the Apple II.
Manock eventually left Apple after John Sculley took over as CEO, becoming a lecturer at the University of Vermont and teaching classes on product development over the last 21 years. He has described his whole ethos — and the basis of his classes at UVM — as integrated product design, democratizing the design process by encouraging everyone to correct or comment on his drawings whether they worked in software development or marketing.
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