His true legacy is that he made the digital analogue. He turned ‘stuff’ into enduring delight. And what one business would have seen as irrelevant, expensive design detail, he made glorious, emotional connectivity. ~

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His Legacy

In countless tributes to Steve Jobs, Apple devotees are understandably praising him for redefining several consumer electronics categories — the computer, the mouse, the MP3 player, the smartphone and the tablet.

Apple’s sleek devices resonate with users through all the noise and clutter of their lives, whether they’re in Johannesburg, Shanghai or São Paulo.

But Jobs’ impact extends beyond Apple’s wildly successful product line. Jobs not only raised the bar on consumer electronics, he transformed the discipline of design. Due to the universal appeal of his work, he revolutionized the way designers everywhere approach their work.

The gift of flow

Jobs’ most singular gift was his knack for untangling the complex engineering layer in technology to provide a seamless user experience. His devices give their users “flow” — the ineffable state of being fully absorbed as described by psychologist Mihaly Csíkszentmihályi (Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience, 1990).

By blending artfulness with precision engineering, Jobs brought us experiences that engage both the left and right brains while appealing to the mind and the senses. In the process, he altered what we want and expect from technology.

Experience designer

Jobs’ impact on design is monumental. As a result of their experiences with his work, a critical mass of designers across every conceivable category has shifted the locus of their attention from the components inside the device to the quality of the user experience. This decidedly human-centic approach, known as Experience Design, is being applied to a growing number of products and services.

Steve Jobs’ genius, determination and uncompromising standards inspired an influential design movement. His paradigm will undoubtedly dominate the field of design for the foreseeable future.

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Images: Courtesy of Apple Inc.

Here is a Design Week – UK  on Jobs’ impact on design, and Yves Béhar’s piece “Steve Jobs Changed My Life”.

Addendum:  An audio interview (NPR, 10/7) with John Maeda, President – Rhode Island School of Design, about Jobs’ influence on design.

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It’s been a hectic summer crisscrossing the Atlantic on planes. I enjoy catching up on reading during long flights but hate schlepping books, so the iPad is a Godsend.  One of my favorite resources is WIRED Magazine’s app developed by Adobe Digital.

The app lives up to its hype of providing an immersive, highly interactive experience.  Gorgeous images and crisp typography rotate with the device, and the layout is sexy.  Apps like this are transforming the way we experience information, and we ought to be mindful of that.  The implications are enormous.

This isn’t an app review, but rather an observation and a suggestion that digital publications like WIRED Magazine are having a profound impact on our aesthetic sensibilities. “The iPad effect” is changing the way we experience information and there are implications for all of us interested in connecting with our audiences.

Death by and of PowerPoint

Curiously, the idea for this piece came not from something I viewed on an iPad, but on a conference room screen where PowerPoint slides were presented by a software vendor.  The salesman, “Frank” (not his real name), was trying to convince my colleagues and me to buy his company’s well-known, hosted CRM software.

The slides were mind-numbingly predictable. An “agenda” slide was followed by seemingly endless “features and benefits” in bullet form, followed by the predictable “next steps” which, thankfully, signaled the end of the ordeal.  Sound familiar?  I remember looking at my watch and thinking, “Forty-five precious minutes lost forever.”

Of course Frank’s intent was to convince us of his “value proposition,” but I came away with the impression that his company is out of touch. His pitch created doubt in my mind about the brand.

Sadly, I’ve endured countless corporate slide decks like that before, but I don’t recall ever feeling such aversion. The contrast with the sleek tablet apps I’d been seeing made Frank’s presentation seem like a relic from the Industrial Age. The starkness of the contrast is the “the iPad effect”.

Design-forward apps are exposing us to more compelling images and interactive features, and we who rely on presenting information to influence audiences ought to take notice.

Redesigning Design

The need for rethinking our presentations isn’t new.  Edward Tufte and, more recently, Garr Reynolds (the Presentation Zen guy) have been preaching — often to the converted — about how and why our presentations need a makeover. The “information architecture” movement has been raising awareness about design literacy for decades.

But old habits die hard. Despite the consciousness-raising, ‘Death by PowerPoint’ still takes a heavy toll in business. Now comes the iPad to show us what’s possible. A new visual design zeitgeist is emerging and there’s no going back.

This is just the beginning — this is the first generation of iPad apps. The designers are figuring out how to make the next iteration sleeker and more interactive. Subsequent generations of apps with more alluring layouts are on the horizon.

What are the implications? It’s time to put the old paradigm to rest. Design is the next frontier, and that’s good news for those of us craving a change.

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What do you think? As always, I’d love to hear your views on this subject.

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Want more info?

Some brilliant ideas concerning the “design behind the design” are found on Boxes and Arrows. Related: design thinking helps us to radically re-imagine the way we solve problems in business. The design firm, IDEO, has some terrific resources.

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