If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery then Apple shouldn't be overly honoured. It's not that they aren't being copied - in fact, the whole industry is scrambling to replicate what Steve Jobs and co have achieved - but everyone else is doing such a rubbish job of it. Good-looking interfaces and chassis are not commonplace in the world of tech. In fact, you're more likely to encounter unintuitive and just-plain-ugly designs.
If you're trying too hard to emulate and fascinate then you're missing the point.
Simon Dingle, contributor, ITWeb
Apple understands something that seems to be beyond its competitors. This extends past industrial design, and incorporates a customer-centric approach with a pedantic streak that won't accommodate even the most obvious of features, unless they can be made rock-solid and unobtrusive for users.
While Apple bends over backwards to push out beautiful computers in the spirit of Dieter Rams - arguably the best industrial designer of all time - its competitors produce cheap, plastic turds with stickers all over them.
But seriously
The stickers are something I've never understood. Intel started it with the 'Intel inside' campaign, which was a stroke of genius. Well done Intel, you're welcome to plaster your innocuous little logo on my stuff. But what are the others for?
A shiny blue and silver sticker advertises the fact that a laptop runs Windows 7. Thanks for that. How else would I possibly have guessed at the operating system? And do I really want that thing in my face after I've ditched Windows 7 and installed Linux? No. The kind of people who do that prefer stickers sporting an ugly - albeit friendly-looking - penguin.
Other stickers try to convince users of adjectives that should be used to describe their gadgets. Intelligence. Power. Innovation. The kinds of things that should speak for themselves. In fact, I'd contend that a sticker with the word 'innovation' on it is a sure sign the product underneath is not, in fact, very innovative at all.
Ditch the stickers. Seriously. And while you're at it, hire some competent designers. It's not rocket science. But it is a lot harder than many would believe.
Undesigned
In “Objectified”- the brilliant documentary ostensibly about industrial design, Apple's Jonathan Ive, who shouldn't require much of an introduction around these parts, talks about the real challenge behind effectively designing beautiful technology.
And that is the chief difference between Ive and the designers involved with Apple's competitors. They try to draw attention to their design smarts, while Ive's are cloaked beneath a veil of customer-centricity.
It's not that the Ives and Rams of the world are not obsessive about their designs. Quite the opposite. The point is that their painstaking efforts are born out of the context of usability.
A very telling part of the “Objectified”interview is when Ive describes the effort that went into designing the indicator light on the front of the aluminium MacBook, which glows on and off when the computer is idling, but disappears entirely when it isn't.
“An indicator has a value when it's indicating something. But when it's not indicating something, it shouldn't be there,” he says.
“It's one of those funny things - you spend so much more time to make it less conspicuous and less obvious. And when you think about it, so many of the products we're surrounded by want you to be very aware of just how clever a solution was. When the indicator comes on, I wouldn't expect anyone to point at it as a feature. But I think at some level you're aware of a calm and considered solution that therefore speaks of how you're going to use it, and not the terrible struggles we as designers and engineers had in trying to solve some of the problems... that's quite obsessive, isn't it?”
Born from intent
Design must be authentic, and authenticity is born from intent. If you're trying too hard to emulate and fascinate then you're missing the point. Like rock-bands trying to be cool, designers either are cool or they aren't. They either get it or they don't. And it's remarkable that so few of them do.
At this point, I should make honourable mention of other technology vendors that are halfway there. Sony, for example, has some attractive designs for its Vaio products, and I've always been a fan of the ThinkPad design by Richard Sapper, even if it hasn't changed much since 1992. I like the clothing labels that protrude from Roku products and Microsoft's Xbox range has a decent aesthetic.
But why are good design examples so few and far between in technology? Perhaps it is due to the fact that gadgets, unlike tools and beauty utensils, have shapes in no way indicative of their function. And, to be fair, we have come a long way from the phlegm-coloured monstrosities of the 80s and 90s.
There is still much to be done, however, and I'd suggest Apple's competitors start by ditching the goddamn stickers.
Share