It's been awhile since the design of the 360 was news and its designer, Jonathan Hayes, has once again become the man behind the box. Like most industrial designers, he has no signature on his art, but his white game console has earned him plenty of accolades.The Washington Post has an interesting story on Hayes and the design of the 360. His father jokes, "He's not a computer geek. He's not a gamer. He can barely navigate his way around e-mail." His inspiration for the 360 was not grounded in consumer electronics, rather a 1920s Constantin Brancusi sculpture. Bird in Space (pictured) "traces a bird's flight. It captures the essence of upward thrust."
While describing the old Xbox as the Incredible Hulk and the 360 as Bruce Lee he says, "The old Xbox was more concerned about function; the new Xbox is equally concerned with form"
It's clear Microsoft put much more importance (much much more) into the look and feel of the 360 versus the original Xbox. With Sony's world famous industrial designers currently leading the pack, the choice was simple. It remains to be seen how the two will compare to each other once Sony's PS3 is more... finalized.
[Via Xbox-Scene]
