Apple Just Saved Me $1000

On Apr 7, 2006, at 11:47 PM, Kevin van Haaren wrote:

[In reference to Jeff's ExtraBITS post... -Andrew]

<http://emperor.tidbits.com/.3c78d444>

--On April 6, 2006 2:46:35 PM -0700 Jeff Carlson <ExtraBITStidbits.com> wrote: > It will be interesting to see if PC manufacturers respond to Boot > Camp. > Sure, right now they're going to say, "We've been doing Windows > PCs for > years, and we can do them cheaper than Apple." But I'll bet we'll see > more effort being put into better industrial design as they > realize that > a new competitor has climbed into their market space.

I think their is a total lack of understanding of how important industrial design is to Apple's success. The MP3 player market is a prime example. Every company claims to have an iPod "killer" but no one has come close. And I think the industrial design of the iPod is one of the key reasons.

Frog Design, the industrial design company that worked with Apple on the iPod, the Macintosh, Apple II and other stuff (and they also did the Windows XP identity), has an outstanding video on their site about Apple's user centered design strategy and how it has greatly influenced consumer expectations for hardware and software:

http://www.frogdesign.com/apple/01/lw_apple_p01.swf

If you're on a slow connection, it'll be worth the wait.

There's a great article from their newsletter on the iPod as an exemplar of amalgamating

And from another article on the site, "Dissonant Design: Fulfilling the Need for Self Expression" "Apple also delivered value in the product’s [iPod's] utility. Once product observers adapted and the self-expressive benefit of ownership waned, the pure utility of the product continued to deliver. IPod owners realized that while the product’s design has lost dissonance, the iPod still works seamlessly. They have evolved into evangelizing the product based on its simplicity of use.

Second, Apple frequently applies dissonant designs across new product categories which energizes the brand and creates a halo effect across the existing product base. By launching the Mac Mini which drastically countered the expectations for a PC’s form and design, Apple rewards iPod owners for being a part of a family that continues to break the rules. IPod owners’ self-expressive benefit evolves from being rewarded by the tension created by owning an iPod to the tension created by being an Apple brand owner

http://www.frogdesign.com/mind/articles/index.html

And an article congratulating Apple on it's 30th birthday the the company founder and respected design guru Hartmut Essingler:

"There is no other American brand so perfectly in synch with its mission and ability to deliver the complete customer experience. With an Apple product people get what is promised to them. “Out of box” means take it out and it works."

http://www.frogdesign.com/inside/news_press/press_releases/2006/ pr04_03.html

Marilyn