German designer Hartmut Esslinger reveals some of his early Apple computer and tablet designs that were never produced in a new book entitled, "Design Forward".

Apple used Esslinger's company Frogdesign extensively in the 1980s. When Steve Jobs saw the work that Frogdesign was doing for Sony he offered them a 2 million/year contract to open an office in Silicon Valley. Jobs wanted them to create a signature look for the new Macintosh line and together they built the Apple IIc which was introduced in 1984.

Designboom met Hartmut Esslinger shortly before a presentation in Hong Kong and was given a copy of the book.

He introduced us into the strategic planning of apple and his personal friendship with steven jobs. in this article, designboom takes a look back at esslinger's designs of the early 80's, where the images document prototypes, concepts and explorations of apple's computers, laptops and tablets.

The book is available on Amazon for $26.40. Take a look at a few photos below or hit the link for more...

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