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Written by Kate Smith
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 In the late '90's Apple was faltering under the direction of their third CEO in almost as many years, and so the powers-that-be returned Steve Jobs to the helm of Apple.
With Jobs in the driver's seat again, it was time for Apple to make a statement that was a radical counterpoint to the current Performas and Power Macs, as well as signal return to the all-in-one basics that Apple was once famous for.
As part of their strategy, Apple wisely chose to make an attention grabbing statement through the creative use of color!
Goodbye boring beige. Enter Bondi blue! This was the name coined by Appe Computer, Inc. for the color of the original iMac computer. It's said to be named for the color of the water at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia.
Commentators have noted that Bondi Beach is popular for surfing, whereas the iMac was promoted for "surfing the web". It has been claimed that the color's name was chosen by two New Zealanders working for Apple, and who had previously lived in Sydney.
Apple’s use of translucent candy-colored plastics inspired similar designs in other consumer electronics. Apple subsequently released many other colors including blueberry, strawberry, tangerine, grape, and lime; later other colors, such as graphite, ruby, emerald, sage, snow, and indigo, and the “Blue Dalmation” and “Flower Power” patterns.
The iMac delighted computer purchasers and was the best selling computer in the U.S. and Japan for many months. The popularity of the iMac increased Apple’s brand awareness, and embedded the iMac into popular culture. The tremendous sales pleased shareholders and put Apple back in the game.
The rest is history.
The iMac was eventually released in all the colors above
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Kate Smith, founder and contributing editor of Sensational Color is a color expert, strategist and 
