We’ve seen it again and again. Every company wants to be an innovator. They’ll stick an Apple logo up as an exemplar organisation. Everyone wants to have the iPod of their product category.
But of course you have to do the things that Apple does to get their results. And that is often very hard, and involves change. Hell, if it was easy, everyone would be doing it. But just like eating well and exercising regularly to lose weight, it isn’t rocket surgery either. And one of the key things Apple does is give prime attention to design.
Here’s an article about design at Apple.
It’s only a few pages and worth a read, but here are my fave gems quotes:
On spending design time up-front:
…today Apple spends 15 to 20 percent of its industrial-design time on concept—far more than most other computer companies—and the rest on implementation.
On design-by-commitee and consensus design:
[Apple’s former process] was a consultative process – many different points of view and impressions were solicited. But this can lead to a lack of cohesion in the product, when you find yourself asking another manager, ‘What are you adding in?’ … you’d get a cascade of people responsible for various factors injecting their concerns. … The businessman wants to create something for everyone, which leads to products that are middle of the road. It becomes about consensus, and that’s why you rarely see the spark of genius.
On having a singular design vision:
Critical to Apple’s success in design is the way [Steve] Jobs brought focus and discipline to the product teams. [Jobs] had a single, cohesive image of the final product and would not allow any deviation, no matter how promising a new proposed feature appeared to be, no matter how much the team complained. Other companies are more democratic, listening to everyone’s opinions, and the result is bloat and a lack of cohesion.
On keeping features out:
The hardest part of design, especially consumer electronics, is keeping features out. Simplicity is in itself a product differentiator, and pursuing it can lead to innovation. The most fundamental thing about Apple that’s interesting is that they’re just as smart about what they don’t do. Great products can be made more beautiful by omitting things.
On clarity of vision and the difference between Apple and Sony:
[Apple’s design team’s] a small team that takes a very, very hands-on approach. Compared with Sony: the process of approval, and collaboration generally—for everything from shape to engineering—involves tons of people, taking up to 50 percent of the time, watering it down. What makes Apple Apple and not Sony is clarity of voice and vision.
