Jerry Manock

Jerrold Clifford Manock (born February 21, 1944) is the first industrial designer at Apple Computer, who designed the external case of the original Apple II and Macintosh 128K computers.

Education
Manock attended Stanford University, where he earned his B.S. in Mechanical Engineering in 1966, and his M.S. in Mechanical Engineering–Product Design in 1968. For his master's project, he worked on a device to aid in percussion-drainage therapy for children with cystic fibrosis.

Career
From 1968 to 1972 Manock worked as a product design engineer in the Microwave Division of Hewlett-Packard in Palo Alto, California. From 1972 to 1975 he was chief mechanical engineer at Telesensory Systems of Palo Alto. He then worked as a freelance product design consultant.

In 1977, Manock took on Apple Computer as a client and consulted on the product design and mechanical engineering of the Apple II personal computer, for which he was paid $1,800. In 1979, Manock joined Apple as corporate manager of product design, working on the Disk II, Apple III, Lisa, and early compact Macs. Manock conceived of the idea of using icons instead of English text to identify ports on the exterior case to make the Macintosh more international.

After leaving Apple, Manock became a professor at the University Of Vermont and is the President & Principal Designer of Manock Comprehensive Design, based in Burlington, Vermont.

Articles

 * A profile of Jerry Manock, the designer behind the Apple II by JamieKeene at The Verge (2012-02-09)
 * iWitness: Apple Employee #246 at Manufacturing.net (2012-02-16)
 * Meet Jerry Manock, the father of Apple’s Industrial Design Group by Luke Dormehl at Cult of Mac (2020-03-12)