Exhibition of Apple design debuts in German museum

During the Steve Jobs II era at Apple, the company's product priorities focused on ease of use, delighting and surprising the customer, and of course the incredible design aesthetic that we all know and love.

That design philosophy has been championed and executed by the industrial design team led by senior vice president Jonathan Ive, and it is Ive's work with Apple that is the topic of a new exhibition in Hamburg, Germany at the Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe (Arts and Crafts). Stylectrical: On Electro-Design That Makes History aims to take a close look at "the complex process of industrial design in the context of cultural studies."

The show, opening this weekend, contains 300 separate exhibits; over half of those are Apple products. All products released by Apple under Ive's design oversight are supposed to be represented there (the first time that's happened), alongside other leading electronic product design examples. There is particular attention paid to the ties between Apple design and the German industrial giant Braun's products.

In addition to a print catalog, the exhibition merits pride of place in the museum's own iPhone app (of course). You can see photos from the exhibit, check opening times and view museum information.

The exhibition runs from now until January 15, 2012. Admission is €8 (€5 for Thursday evenings), and the museum is open every day but Monday. I'm planning to check it out in person next week, and I'll share some pictures and impressions from the visit.