Design that Moves Business: Apple’s “Overnight” Success! (Part 2)

By Guest Authors Charley Bush and Kathy Hwang of 3Strand Innovation

DESIGN-DRIVEN BUSINESS – The Human Side

In the first part of this series, we offered a definition of a true design-driven approach. Recall that such an approach is centered on the user. In this post we apply that definition to the creation of an actual product, Apple’s iPod. We’ve heard stories of business managers telling their designers, “We need the next ‘iPod.’ You have one month. Go and design it.” This approach shows a very narrow understanding of design and the process behind it.

 The iPod has become the icon of simple design. How did this happen? 

First, the iPod is aesthetically minimalist.

(Golden rectangle proportions in original iPod design)

So did Apple just take a rectangular block and add some buttons? There is much more behind it than can be seen at first glance. The shape of the original iPod is actually based on the golden ratio. With roots in the Fibonacci sequence, the golden ratio is a proportion that is found abundantly in nature, mathematics and ancient Greek art. You can see it in architecture, ranging from ancient structures like the Parthenon to more modern buildings like MIT’s Kresge Auditorium. You can see it in a pine cone or a conch shell. It is considered to be one of the most visually pleasing proportions to look at.

Apple built a whole visual brand language out of the details, from the radii of the rounded corners to the glossy surface treatment to the lack of exposed screws and minimal number of buttons.

Second, the iPod’s user interface is intuitive. You can find your songs quickly. But not only that, it connects to your computer easily. Your computer charges it as well. The attached iTunes software makes it easy to store and manage your music. In fact, it even sells you more music at the click of a button.

Apple did not limit its definition of user interface to the small screen on the product. They mapped out all the touch-points you go through when finding, storing and sorting through your music, and looked for opportunities to simplify your life. Stories persist to this day of Steve Jobs returning prototype after prototype of the iPod to the lab bench because he could not get to his desired song within three clicks.

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But in the end, there’s much more to a design-driven business than the aesthetics and features of the product. Our take is that it’s not necessarily about designing for what your customers say they want. It’s about understanding your customers well enough to know their aspirations, frustrations, hopes and dreams. From this level of intimacy, you design something to help your customers be who they aspire to be. And you make that vision a priority for the entire company. 

”Steve [Jobs] made some very interesting observations very early on about how this was about navigating content,” Jonathan Ive, Apple’s senior vice president of Industrial Design, told the New York Times. ”It was about being very focused and not trying to do too much with the device — which would have been its complication and, therefore, its demise. The enabling features aren’t obvious and evident, because the key was getting rid of stuff.”

Ive continued on to explain how this process was embraced by all involved. This was not the usual silo approach of a designer sketching a pretty box, a computer scientist writing code, and an engineer playing with materials, all independent of each other. This was a team effort led by Ive (known for creating electronics that people want to brag about owning), and Jobs (known for having a knack of turning technology into extensions of ourselves).

This segment is part 2 in the series : Design that Moves Business: Apple’s “Overnight” Success!
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