Kusann
Apple as an organization is centered within an industry in which design is perhaps the most important element in the production. Computers, telephones and listening devices are products that deeply define civilians’ everyday lives. Social status can also be argued to be an important element in the purchase of these goods, as individuals probably judge some brands to be “better” than others. In this way, not only is the functionality important, but even more the design. And oftentimes those two go hand in hand.
The more and more complicated phones get, the more important it is to maintain quality design that make it easy for individuals to follow the technical revolution of the world. As Alice Rawsthorn puts it in Hello world: where design meets life, “no design exercise can be deemed worthwhile unless it fulfills its function and does so efficiently,” (Rawsthorn, 2013: 46). Even Plato stated in 390 B.C. that the “virtue and beauty and rightness of every manufactured article, living creature or action is assessed only in relation to the purpose for which it was made,” (Rightsworth, 2013: 46). Good design, in this way, has to be practical and simple to use to be deemed purposeful.
In Apple’s case they can be seen as innovative experts at redefining design to make the product easy to use as well as pretty. Touchscreens for instance had already been around for 20 years by the time Steve Jobs introduced Apple’s Iphone in 2007 (Woodford, 2018). However, it can be argued that Apple, with its design and functionality, made touchscreens what they are today. With the revolutionary design they redefined technology into a product that could be used and understood by the majority of the population, and not just scientists and the tech industry. The reason why the population found Apple’s products as groundbreaking, can be explained by the explanation that beauty in design is important; it can, in fact, make our lives more pleasant, inspiring even (Rawsthorn, 2013: 50).
However, as mentioned earlier, functionality and design goes hand in hand. One of them can not compensate for the other. Even though Apple’s design was revolutional when the iPhone was first introduced in 2007, people have grown more tired of the design in later years. The new generations of iPhone that were introduced after Steve Jobs’ death in 2009, have been met with criticism that the aesthetics have become too much in focus, leaving the element of functionality out. Don Norman, a former member of the Apple design team (1993-1996), believes Apple has abandoned the functionality of their user-friendly design: “They have sacrificed understandability for aesthetic beauty,” he says (Tetzeli, 2017).
As shown, innovating design is a key element in producing a successful product – but so is functionality. Apple’s design and production shows that aesthetics can not compensate for functionality – but it can be an important element to gain loyal customers, but functionality is just as important in the long run to keep them.
Reference list:
Rawsthorn, A. (2013). Hello World: Where Design Meets Life by Alice Rawsthorn (London: Hamish Hamilton, 2013)
Tetzeli, R. (2017). Has Apple Lost Its Design Mojo? Retrieved from https://fortune.com/2017/12/22/apple-products-design/
Woodford, C. (2018). Touchscreens. Retrieved from https://www.explainthatstuff.com/touchscreens.html
Making sense of art and design industries 