Apple Has Crushed It (Literally)
The company is no longer the creative rebel; it’s the soulless corpo juggernaut it once rallied against.
In The Dark Knight film, Harvey Dent said, “You either die a hero or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain.”
For Apple, that transformation has taken 40 years.
In Apple’s famous advert, 1984, the company rallied against conformity and corporate sameness with color, boldness, and the concept of “daring to be different.” It marked the beginning of an era where Apple became a genuine powerhouse of innovation and creativity.
When I was a Product Design student in the early 2010s, Apple was a beacon of inspiration across the design medium. We always tried to mimic the style, the branding, and the identity, often subconsciously, because it was first in class. The company was a category creator: the iPod, the iPhone, and the iPad. These products were groundbreaking and have changed the tech landscape forever. The way they were marketed was second to none. There has rarely been a brand identity that is so effective.
So, what the hell happened? Apple is a shadow of itself and has been stagnating for years. It’s lacking direction and chasing trends. The design juice is empty. Aside from the AirPods, it…
