Don Norman writes about Dan Turner’s article about The Secret of Apple Design for which he was interviewed. It is an informative article about what in the process at Apple makes its products unique and attractive.
Various things are mentioned – a small team, a good process, the effort to create a coherent visual vocabulary across products, the “zero-draft” molding, and using simplicity as a differentiator. One big factor that stands out, which I might not like very much if I am a team member, is the role of Steve Jobs as a dictator. Image of the final product is so clear in his mind that he does not entertain suggestions from the team.
The last piece about Why Design? has a cognitive basis rather than the usual praise for design. This can probably stress on importance of design more than anything. However, the take away from this is that the biggest ingredient of Apple’s Design today is Steve Jobs, the person, the designer and the strong leader.
