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<\/a><\/p>\nBraun's Rams influenced Apple's Ive. Photo courtesy of Gizmodo<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
A few months ago, my friend Christian Lindholm, partner at Fjord, a convergence design agency<\/a>, and father of the Series 60 interface (at Nokia) stopped by for one of our quarterly idea sessions. Our conversation eventually veered towards a topic that’s near and dear to both of us: design. I spend an inordinate amount of time contemplating design and its eventual impact on products and companies.\u00a0Lindholm’s visit coincidentally was\u00a0a few days before we launched the redesigned GigaOM<\/a>. I wanted his opinion. Instead he offered great insight. Most companies (including web startups), he said, are looking to \u201cwow\u201d with their products, when in reality what they should be looking for is an \u201c’of course’ reaction from their users.\u201d<\/p>\n Puzzled, I looked at him. And then it hit me: Great design means that one look and the end user reacts by knowing what to do with a knob or a button, without as much as even thinking about it. Of course<\/em> this knob is what turns the volume up, or brings up the home screen, or in case of our own site design, a hypertext link that brings up posts by Stacey or Liz or me.<\/p>\n This was brought home to me earlier today when I was watching “Objectified,” a documentary film<\/a> by director Gary Hustwit, who’s well-known for his last film, “Helvetica.” (Both are available for download on the iTunes Store.)<\/em> Hustwit explores objects around us, how they’re designed, and what they do. It was the best 75 minutes I’ve spent watching a movie, for it not only educated me about design, but it also helped me understand how great designers such as Marc Newson; Dieter Rams, Braun’s former design chief; and Apple\u2019s Jonathan Ive think of and design products.<\/p>\n \u201cIn my experience users react positively when things are clear and understandable<\/strong>,\u201d Rams<\/a> told the Filmmaker. Rams, a veteran designer, is well-known for designing<\/a> iconic products for Braun. He’s said to have been a major influence on Ive<\/a>, Apple\u2019s senior VP of Industrial Design.<\/p>\n When talking about the iPhone, Ive told the filmmaker:<\/p>\n When we are designing a product, we look at the various attributes of a product. Some of those attributes are the materials it is made from and the form that is connected to that material. Other issues is physically how do you connect to the product. For example in iPhone, everything defers to the display.<\/p>\n A lot of what we seem to be doing in a product like that is getting design out of the way<\/strong>. With that sort of reason, it feels almost inevitable, almost undesigned and it feels almost, like of course it is that way. Why would it be any other way<\/strong>?<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n I think this is what Apple\u2019s competitors fail to understand. Many confuse features — aka feeds and speeds — with what really connects with customers: user experiences. (That’s a primary reason why I’m not a fan of Droid, the much\u00a0ballyhooed Android device. And it’s also the reason why I have growing respect for HTC and what it’s doing with its Sense technology.)<\/p>\n Explaining Apple\u2019s design philosophy behind MacBook Air, Ive told the filmmaker:<\/p>\n We push ourselves to ask, can we do the job of those six parts with just one? One part that provides so much functionality that it enables one product. It wasn\u2019t design of the physical thing, but it was figuring out the process. It is about what\u2019s important and what\u2019s not important.<\/p>\n It is important to remember things that are important and not important and then removing things that are vying for your attention<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Similarly, all features have to have a reason, Ive explained. He gave the example of the indicator light on a MacBook which simply goes away when the laptop is in use.<\/p>\n Indicator has a value when it is indicating. So you spend a lot of time making things less obvious, less conspicuous<\/strong>. When indicator comes on, it is not a feature. It is a calm and considered solution and focus on how you are going to use it.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n But not everyone thinks like that.\u00a0\u201cWhat bothers me today is the arbitrariness and thoughtlessness with which many things are produced and brought to market, not only in the sector of consumer goods, but also in architecture and advertising,\u201d Rams said in the film. \u201cWe have too many unnecessary things everywhere.\u201d\u00a0I completely agree. And when the annual Consumer Electronics Show (CES) kicks off later this week in Las Vegas, we’re going to see a gaudy display of these excesses. The good news is that many of these will never see the light of the day.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.stoth.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/wp-o-matic\/cache\/4eb8a_dzn_podcast-dieter-rams-8.jpg?w=210&h=140\")
This of course factor<\/em> is at the heart of every great design — from the iPhone to the Braun alarm radio. And it’s an important lesson that every startup and\u00a0entrepreneur\u00a0should remember. Whether your company is making a physical product or a web service or mobile application, it’s essential for you to think about design. ![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.stoth.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/wp-o-matic\/cache\/4eb8a_objectified.jpeg?w=110&h=150\")
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\n 1. Good design should be innovative<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n 2. Good design should make a product useful<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n 3. Good design is aesthetic design<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n 4. Good design will make a product understandable<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n 5. Good design is honest<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n 6. Good design is unobtrusive<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n 7. Good design is long lived<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n 8. Good design is consistent in every details<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n 9. Good design should be environmentally friendly<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n 10. Good design is as little design as possible<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n
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