The specifications for the iMac G3 were first given in september 1997. Steve Jobs wanted it to be a distinctive, all in one computer with a price that was significantly lower than the price of entry-level computers at the time. $1,200, instead of $2,000. The design and engineering teams were given less than a year to deliver a fully-formed, fully functioning computer.
In the first stages, the development team were attempting to discern what existing objects evoked the emotions they wanted the computer to evoke. Designer Doug Satzger designed an egg-shaped computer based on his earlier work with Thomson televisions. The team focused on the ovoid design, even though Steve Jobs initially rejected it. They defended the design as playful and fun, and eventually convinced Jobs to accept the idea. Jobs began carrying around a foam board model of the design around the apple campus, to show it off.
When the team was discussing the idea of a machine that brings out positive emotions, they eventually came to colorful candy dispensers. Tests with solid-colored plastic looked cheap however, so they made it translucent. Translucent hardware wasn't new to apple devices, one former senior designer even called translucency a way to make the products accesible and distinctive. To one of the team's members, it came across as cheeky. It did mean that the looks of the internal components would also need to be considered.
Inspiration was drawn from several translucent objects, but the iconic "Bondi blue" color came from a piece of sea glass.
When designing the iMac G3, the team had to radically change their way of doing things to meet the one year deadline. Their usual process took months and was extremely labour-intensive. Instead, they relied on computer-aided design using 3D modeling, cut pieces of metal and plastic using computer controlled cutting machines, also using a primitive version of a 3D printer. Apple product designers created a special software to allow their 3D models to be brought into an aerospace design program, allowing the engineers to compare 3D models with the casing. This tremendously sped up the process of finding a good combination of computer parts.
When representatives for Apple's advertising company were shown the iMac G3, it was codenamed the "C1". The creative director for the advertising company said the computer might be too shocking to be succesful. Steve Jobs was extremely proud of their work however, saying the back of Apple's computers look better than the front of their competitors'. Jobs told the creative director the internal name for the device was "MacMan", contributed by Apple's marketing excecutive. He then solicited a study for a better name, demanding it contained "Mac", must give the impression of easy internet connectivity, and that it doesn't sound too portable or toy-like. The advertising company spent a week developing other names, eventually picking "iMac" as their favourite. The name iMac was short, indcated that it is a macintosh computer, and the letter 'i' in front suggested to the consumer that it could connect to the internet. Steve Jobs disliked all of the suggestions they had, though. He gave the advertising company another week, and in the next meeting, they suggested "iMac" again. Jobs didn't hate the name anymore at this point, but he still preferred the project name, "MacMan". The creative director saw this as a personal failure, but the next day he learned that Jobs had suggested the name to his employees, who gave such a positive response that the product was eventually sold under the "iMac" title.