5 Rules to Help You Design Like Apple
Many years ago, I was working with Mitsubishi on the development of a new line of mobile phones. The engineers had worked tirelessly to pack the new devices with all sorts of bells and whistles. The only problem was that our research indicated that people didn’t want complex bells and whistles — they wanted ease-of-use and simplicity. So, we had to re-vamp the marketing strategy to focus on how easy the product was to use rather than focusing on all the new features.
It drove the engineers nuts. But it was the right thing to do.
If that story sounds familiar, it’s because Steve Jobs and his team at Apple have focused their designs on simplicity and ease-of-use for the entire existence of their business. It’s worked like gangbusters for them and will probably continue to work for years to come.
With that in mind, I’d like to direct your attention to the video below, which was created by the folks at OnlineMBA.com. It highlights 5 rules you can use to design like Apple:
- Don’t skimp on sections of design just because they aren’t in the customer’s main line of site
- Every employee in the company must truly understand what the product is
- Good design is produced by people who are motivated by failures and optimistic about change
- It’s harder to design something that’s beautiful than it is to stuff a product with bells and whistles
- Product design isn’t meant to stick out like a sore thumb
The video does a terrific job of shedding light on these tips and techniques. It’s worth checking out because it includes good concepts and ideas that I’d encourage you to digest and embrace.
Enjoy!