Dan Ferro

Apple Computer, Inc.

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Macintosh Family Showcase

The idea for the Macintosh Family Showcase came from Apple Computer's creative services group. The goal was to use a Mac to talk about and to control the entire line of computers. Hugh Dubberly hired HyperPro to develop the first versions. I was the project manager. The last two were designed and produced by me with a group of very talented contractors. In the fourth version, the layout of Showcase changed from a single row to two rows of computers because the family had grown. The final version, pictured above, was used on the main stage of the Apple booth at COMDEX and other trade shows.

The wall of computers acted as an ensemble to present features of the Macintosh family using animations that appeared to move through the monitors. A snap shot of the networking animation is shown here. Voice-overs, and specifically composed music were also used in the showcase. There were a lot of people on the team that created this piece. Hugh was the creative director and I was the producer/designer. Other contibutors included a stage designer, illustrators, designers, programmers, animators, musicians, voice-over talent, recording engineers, and a systems engineer. Here's a note I received from Paul Segal, the Apple stage designer: "People were glued to it at COMDEX. Congratulations!"

System 7 Introduction

The System 7 Introduction demo was a challenge because we were working with alpha and beta software. Because the software was still in development, we had a number of backup plans. In the end we had versions that worked on CD or hard drive and with or without the 3D animations. This provided a number of variations for use in stores and by the field sales staff.

The demo consisted of seven sections, one for each new feature. Each section had an animation showing the application of the new feature. Because of marketing goals, the user was only allowed to move sequentially through the top level of information and to select an animation. This ensured that all basic information was presented to the user.

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