RE: Authenticity

I, too, originally posted this in the comments section. Sorry Amy!

I think the argument of authenticity is based around your audience. The same people who are buying Macbooks might not be buying a bunch of home improvement tools. Apple's design appeals to a "young, hip" crowd. While I prefer this style of design, it doesn't appeal to everyone--because it is good looking, doesn't mean that it represents the product in the best way possible. I think it's hard for designer to acknowledge that something that they think isn't the best looking design might be the best for the particular product that they are selling. Like you wouldn't want some modern book cover on a romance novel--it wouldn't represent what was inside it and wouldn't give the clues to the person buying that that is what they are buying.

Marie, the Obama design issue is so interesting. These political campaigns have pretty much pitted two ideas of what America is and should be against one another. Mitt Romney was the one accused of being Mayberryish in his speech, but here's Obama pulling out some 1960s nostalgia in his campaign signs and materials. It might be because the campaign recognizes that it needs to appeal to older voters as well as younger ones. Last time, he appealed very heavily to his young base, and largely, we were the ones who got him elected. But many are deflated at this point and he may be less concerned with reaching young people this time around because they may not be as helpful. It's pretty amusing how you can read so much into one design. This is a particularly funny case, because they are kind of trying to elicit that old-timey feel, but it ultimately looks like the modern nostalgia thing that is going around, where it looks vintage, but it's not. So it may end up appealing more to the 30-something artsy types and not to the 50-60 year olds...