"We're certainly not making any compromises on the design" says Apple's head of design

The budget MacBook Neo was designed without reducing the quality of materials or processes says Apple's vice president of industrial design Molly Anderson in this exclusive interview.

As the head of the Apple's industrial design team answering directly to CEO Tim Cook, Anderson oversaw the design of the MacBook Neo, which was unveiled earlier this week.

"It's undeniably a MacBook"

Although the MacBook Neo is a low-cost laptop, Apple aimed to create a high-quality product that aligned with the core qualities of the existing MacBooks.

"It's undeniably a MacBook, we're certainly not making any compromises on the design and that's really important," Anderson told Dezeen.

"Absolutely central to the work that we did was asking how do you distill the essence of a Mac? And I think that comes through in the materiality and the quality of it."

Described by Apple as its "most affordable laptop ever", the MacBook Neo is set to go on sale for around half the price of the MacBookAir, which is currently Apple's cheapest laptop. It will cost $599 in the US and £599 in the UK.

Anderson explained that her team set out with the aim of creating what would be many people's first laptop.

Introducing people to Mac with a low-cost product was "a little daunting" as the laptop needed to make a good first impression and maintain the quality of the more premium designs in the range.

"The goal was to make a beautiful product that could reach many more people," she said.

"And what we quickly realised is that it essentially means designing, for many people, their first experience of a Mac."

"We're not using cheaper materials"

Anderson explained that with its design they did not want to take a reductive approach and reduce cost by either stripping away core functions or reducing the quality of materials.

"People's assumption about the way that you make something that's affordable is often – you use an older technology, maybe use a cheaper material or find a way to cut a corner somewhere," she said.

"But for us it was important for it to be quintessentially a MacBook. It wasn't just a redesign, it was starting from the beginning, and we're not using cheaper materials, it's incredible aluminium."

According to Anderson, it was vital that the MacBook Neo was clearly part of the MacBook family and a key part of this was having an aluminium case.

"Part of the family, but clearly different"

But, she also wanted the laptop to be distinguished from the MacBook Air and Pro, with its own visual identity that aligned with its position as an entry-level computer, but was still aspirational.

"We really wanted it to embody what we think are the essential characteristics of the Mac," she said.

"It's certainly a MacBook, but there's some important differences," she continued. "It was important to make it feel part of the family, but with its own personality."

As it may be many people's first laptop, it was important that the MacBook Neo had a "friendly" feel, said Anderson. This was partly achieved through its more rounded form and, of course, the through the use of colour.

"It needed to be approachable, especially if it's the first time you're using a MacBook," she said.

"So it's got to feel friendly and it has to be joyful – we always think using a Mac is joyful and the colours add to that," she continued.

The laptop is available in silver as well as three colours – a dark blue, pale pink and citrus yellow. These colours are matched on the computer's keyboards, feet and logo.

"We felt like the right thing to do was to add colour and it's the most colourful MacBook," said Anderson.

"But we knew that to have such a strong use of colour, it would have to carry through to everything – the keycaps, feet and also it's in the first time we've used an anodized aluminium logo, which is surprisingly complicated, but it's one of those problems we like to solve."

Half the aluminium of other MacBooks

While Apple was determined to maintain the quality of the low-cost laptop, the design team still had to find ways to reduce the cost of the product.

One key way was through how the body of the MacBook Neo was produced.

Like the MacBook Air and Pro, the body is made from aluminium. However unlike the bodies of the other MacBooks where an extrusion is cut to form the unibody, the Neo's body was made using a combination of manufacturing processes.

"We started with an extrusion, we flatten and then form it with heat and pressure to get as close as possible to the shape of the final product,"  explained Anderson.

"Then we fine machine to create the profile. So we're really reducing a huge amount of the machining cycle time that's involved."

According to Anderson this reduced cost as it reduced the overall manufacturing time and halved the amount of material used.

"The goal is for us to use less material overall, and to use to reduce the amount of processing of that material," she said.

"It's really this kind of special equation of having the right alloy, designing the right product and developing the shape to be able to process it so it feels exactly like the MacBook with the quality of a MacBook."

Although the new process greatly reduced costs, Anderson explained that this does not mean that it will necessarily be used for future versions of the MacBook Air or Pro.

"Every system we design is unique, this is another tool in our toolbox."

Apple's most sustainable laptop

According to Apple, the MacBook Neo is also its most sustainable laptop ever. Overall it was made from 60 per cent recycled materials and the aluminium is 90 per cent reused.

Anderson explained that compromising on the environmental credentials of the laptop was not an option even though it was lower cost product.

"Whenever there's a constraint, people think about removing things and one thing that is often removed are the expensive materials that might be more sustainable," she said.

"We have a very ambitious goal for 2030 to be carbon neutral across our global footprint, so there is not a way that we can do that."

Anderson, who studied at the Royal Academy of Arts in London, joined Apple in 2014 after previously working at mobile phone company Nokia and design studios Barber Osgerby and Map Project Office.

Other recent releases from Apple include the "impossibly thin" iPhone Air and expandable "extra pocket" for iPhones.

The post "We're certainly not making any compromises on the design" says Apple's head of design appeared first on Dezeen.