A Tour of iCloud’s Error Pages

Who said flat design can’t be whimsical?

If you know me, you know that a lot of things about iOS 7 make me sad. I saw the unveiling of Apple’s new design direction firsthand at WWDC 2013. That night, I felt as though I had lost a loved one. Because I had. I loved Apple’s style so much — the shadows, the photorealistic icons, the metaphorical UIs and rich textures — for so many years. I was in 5th grade when OS X 10.4 Tiger was unveiled, and I literally counted down the days until its release. I didn’t even own a Mac. But on June 10, 2013, that style died.

Pondering Apple’s design shift led me to wonder what happened to the cute iCloud error pages featuring an anthropomorphic iCloud logo, an homage to the Happy Mac. iCloud’s web UI was recently redesigned in full iOS 7-garb, and I worried that the friendly iCloud faces were lost in the revamp. To my surprise, the error pages were redrawn for a flatter appearance, but the pages are even more whimsical than before! Nerdy iCloud’s mug gained a retro Apple logo, and hungry iCloud’s cookie is no longer photorealistic, but it’s a lot more colorful. I love the attention to detail that was put into these. It’s a testament to Apple’s design team that they care so much about something as mundane as a series of error pages. I’ve put together a gallery of the old iCloud pages next to the new versions. Enjoy.

iCloud channels the Sherlock icon.

iCloud can’t find the page, but it looked really hard.

A nerdy iCloud smiles at you through duct-taped glasses while sipping on some Java coffee.

Seriously, I love this. I actually have a retro Apple mug. It’s awesome.

iCloud would like to eat your cookies, please.

Tasty.

Aww, darn.