The original iPhone

We asked our team to tell us about their favourite ever piece of design. It could be a logo, a building, an object (shoes, gadgets, product packaging). The only criteria was that they consider it a thing of beauty and have an emotional connection to it.

The original iPhone - by Peter Bennett (Head of Editorial)

“The iPhone is the perfect marriage of industrial design, ground-breaking technology and user interface.”

Why do you love it? What does it mean to you?

The original iPhone was a cultural and technical step change – it changed everything. And, as a smug early adopter, I loved every second of it.

What are your favourite aspects of it?

A touchscreen, internet-enabled device that didn't rely on a stylus. Just the 'slide to unlock' gesture blew minds. It didn't matter that I couldn't send an MMS or use 3G – everything else worked beautifully. The smooth metal. The beautiful 3.5" screen ... everything felt amazing.

Photo: Blendspace by Tes

When you see the phone, what memories does it bring back?

I remember queuing for hours outside the O2 store in Newcastle when it was pissing down with rain. As an impoverished student, I remember cobbling together the £269 deposit and begging my Dad to go halves on the £35-a-month contract (which was crazy expensive then!).