Apple’s Design Philosophy

Originally, I was reading an interaction design blog when I came across a quote of a quote from the article, The Secret of Apple Design by Don Norman.

“The hardest part of design, especially consumer electronics,” says Norman, “is keeping features out.” Simplicity, he says, is in itself a product differentiator, and pursuing it can lead to innovation.

Every Industrial Designer, Interaction Designer, and Human Factors guru would agree (I hope). To me, that sums what product design should be quite nicely. But, I wonder if the innovation that Don Norman is talking about is for the designers own satisfaction, or for the consumers satisfaction. Consumers, though they might want feature upon feature in a new device, what they need in the end is to be able to use the device effectively – does that mean the device has to be innovative? No, might be as simple and conforming as the next product on the shelf. I think, for Apple, the innovation came when they decided to focus more on basic design (aesthetics) as well as the Interaction Design early on in their products development.

If you read the article that Don Norman is quoted from, then  you will get an excellent idea of Apple’s design philosophy – not how they design, or their process, but their philosophy based on people who have crossed paths with them. Apple supposedly doesn’t like talking to the press, so the article uses people twice removed. Still, a good read.

Another memorable quote from the article:

“Jobs is a dictator, but with good taste,” says Norman. “He is good and driven to the perfect experience. He doesn’t want good design; he wants great design.” Brunner similarly lauds Jobs’s “driven, singular focus.” And Rolston says, in what is perhaps the best explanation of Apple’s design ascendancy, “It’s a happy coincidence at Apple that the designer in chief is the CEO. He has a fantastic sense of what people want. And after all, that is design.”

(Robert Brunner was Apple’s director of industrial design from 1989 to early 1996 and Mark Rolston is senior vice president of creative at Frog Design, a product-design and strategic-branding firm that worked closely with Apple from 1982 to 1988.)