Case Study: All I Want For Christmas is My AppleTV
Mission
WSJ - All Things D was running an op-ed by tech CEO Jeremy Allaire, speculating about the future of AppleTV and what devices & hardware to expect. I was hired to design & illustrate a future AppleTV set and standalone set-top device for the article.
Roles
Product Designer
Illustrator
Strategy
I approached it from a product design perspective, mirroring the shapes, bevels and thicknesses of existing Apple products. The brief provided me with a list of deliverables and features to include, but I had freedom to add my own functionality and details which were included in the art that launched.
For the AppleTV television set I matched the alternating matte & glossy textures and corner radiuses. I illustrated 1:1 device ports and placement to get as close to the anticipated product as possible.
In the first round of the set-top device design I included a magnetic power connector similar to their macbook line, but ultimately I decided that given the small size of the device, lightning charging would be preferable.
One particular design element I was proud of was a low-profile wall mounting system based on a french cleat that would allow for the TV to slide easily onto a metal table stand or an exceedingly thin wall mount bracket. I also designed a coaxial-to-lightning dongle that made more sense before the rapid growth of streaming in mainstream homes.
Line artwork for each product was created with 1:1 scale inputs and cables. Once I had the essential forms completed, I went about creating photorealistic renderings in Adobe Illustrator that mirrored Apple’s product shots perfectly. With the renderings complete, I then created renderings of Apple product packages with their respective product illustrations on the front.
With those complete, I used Adobe Illustrator & Adobe Photoshop to add each package rendering to stock photos of presents under a Christmas tree to make them appear as real gifts at the holidays.
The final assets for the project were collaborative, with my friend & main point of contact on the project, Nat Tarbox, designing a prototype of the Apple store ecommerce site featuring the product renderings as well as a UI for their mobile devices to act as content directories. I then used those UI elements to create lifestyle photos of families using the devices together.
Conclusion
The author of the column and the publication were very happy with the final product with the product renderings featured prominently throughout. For a project with such an ambitious deadline, I was left with multiple portfolio pieces that I am still quite proud of.
