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Simplicity is Sophistication

Apple’s sense of design has spoiled us, which is (probably) a good thing.


Throughout my life, I have consumed significant amounts of time using a variety of Apple Inc. products, including the iPod Nano (2008), iPod Touch (2010), iPhone 6 (2016), and MacBook (2015). I cannot say how much time I have spent with these over the years, but I can say that just today (it’s 6:00 p.m.) I have spent 2 hours and 32 minutes on my iPhone and 5 hours and 37 minutes on my MacBook. That’s 8 of my 10.5 waking hours spent using an Apple design.


If that average was consistent to the past 10 years (and I cannot definitively say it is not), it would be roughly 30,000 hours on Apple devices. What has caused me to invest so much time in this brand? Good design.

Apple prioritizes design in a way that other technology companies did not throughout the development of personal computers and smartphones. I would argue that Apple is still at the vanguard of technology development today.

Their outerwear is clean and simple, with a minimal number of ports, speakers, and buttons. Attachments like earbuds, air pods, charging cords, and Apple TV are also aesthetic pieces that look good on my desk, nightstand, pockets, and pretty much everywhere I go.

However, it is their user-centered interface that keeps me spending time with the devices. I recently read Walter Isaacson’s biography of Steve Jobs, aptly titled Steve Jobs, and was struck by Apple’s early adaptation of user interface testing. Jobs and his team were obsessed with constantly interrogating the usability of every minute feature. As Jobs says, “We believe that customers are smart, and want objects which are well thought through.”

The science of usability testing has increased our ability to create user-centered products. In fact, in following principles of design testing, and exerting enough time and energy into the process, it is becoming difficult not to create usable design. At a certain point, all mobile phone producers will make their features so usable that the distinction between sending a text on an iPhone and Android is only micro-seconds.

In this world, the iPhone’s beauty, and its simplicity of outer design is as important as its functionality. It is not enough that the devices we spend our time using have functionality, they need to look good doing it. Apple made tools that are also art, and in doing so have spoiled us as users.

Things as simple as exposed black wires or ugly fonts now drive me crazy, mostly because I am so used to being in the hands of Apple. There is nothing wrong with my design standards being raised by a particular brand, but sometimes innovation is messy. Not every new discovery that progresses technology forward will start with beauty and simplicity, but the discussion on where to sacrifice functionality for beauty and vise versa is far from being over.

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