Susan Kare reveals design secrets of the original Mac — talk now on YouTube

Legendary graphic designer Susan Kare, who created the icons, fonts, and overall visual language for the original Macintosh, delivered a talk at the Startup School 2026 event. The full video of her presentation is now available on Y Combinator's YouTube channel.

More than four decades after the launch of the original Macintosh, its graphics, system fonts, icons, and overall user interface elements remain as striking as they were in 1984. Many of Kare's original concepts are still present in macOS today — either in spirit or quite literally. The Command key symbol, the Happy Mac boot icon, the system fonts, the hand pointer cursor, and countless other elements are direct descendants of her work. Kare's contributions helped define the visual language of personal computing, not just on the Mac but across the entire industry.

In the talk, Kare shares stories about how she joined Apple in the early 1980s, describing the passion and frustrations that defined those early days when graphical user interfaces and bitmap graphics were largely uncharted territory. She details the design process behind the original Mac's icons and fonts, explains the constraints of working with a 512×342 pixel black-and-white display, and reveals how she translated abstract concepts into recognizable visual metaphors.

Beyond her Apple work, Kare shows projects she completed after leaving the company, including icons for Microsoft Windows and various other software products. She also shares quotes from other legendary designers, offering an extra dose of inspiration for the audience.

The lecture is a treat for anyone interested in design, Apple history, or simply listening to a domain expert talk passionately about a subject she dedicated her entire life to. The video runs approximately one hour and includes Q&A session with the audience.