Insanely Simple… Introducing Macintosh

Insanely Simple: The Obsession That Drives Apple’s Success is where I’ve been spending my time lately. For anybody interested in Apple and Steve Jobs, this book explains how Steve harnessed the power of simplicity to transform the nearly-bankrupt Apple into one of the most powerful companies on the planet. To Steve, simplicity was a religion, and anyone who has purchased an Apple product, dropped by an Apple Store location, or visited Apple.com has most likely experienced this “religion” firsthand.

Insanely Simple focuses much more on the period of Apple after Steve returned in 1997 from his exile. But the concept of Steve Jobs’ love of all things uncomplicated goes back much further than his second tenure at Apple.

I recently rediscovered an old Introducing Macintosh brochure that was published 30 years ago. (I’m proud to admit that I actually have had this antique in my possession since 1984, back when I was just a geek-in-training.) It didn’t take long, looking through this classic brochure, to realize that much like Apple’s clean and simple style of today, this old Macintosh announcement possesses those very same qualities. It made an immediate impact rediscovering it in 2014, just as it did back in 1984 when my 9-year-old former self turned those pages for the very first time.

Of course, I had to scan the entire thing. Enjoy the gallery below as you take a trip back to the simplicity of Apple’s first Macintosh.