Former Apple designer dispels myths about Steve Jobs, corporate culture
Ex-Apple senior designer and user experience evangelist Mark Kawano gives a peek behind the curtain of Cupertino's inner workings in an interview with Fast Company, dispelling four myths regarding the company's design studio and the reputation of cofounder Steve Jobs.
Mark Kawano, former Apple designer and creator of visual storytelling app Storehouse.
Source: Fast Company
Drawing on seven years of experience at Apple designing products like Aperture and iPhone, then later as a UX evangelist, Kawano shed light on how the company is able to churn out the innovative designs now synonymous with the Apple brand. In an interview with Fast Company, Kawano said he wanted to debunk myths surrounding Cupertino's design process.
The first target: Apple's design team. Kawano said there is a misconception that Apple is able to product high-quality, intricately detailed products because it has the best designers and design process.
"It's actually the engineering culture, and the way the organization is structured to appreciate and support design," Kawano said. "Everybody there is thinking about UX and design, not just the designers. And that's what makes everything about the product so much better...much more than any individual designer or design team."
At Apple, instead of having to deal with infighting and corporate bureaucracy, designers are able to spend their time on the task at hand. More interesting is how the company makes hires. Kawano feels almost everyone at Apple "thinks like a designer," each contributing to a common well-designed end product.
Second on Kawano's hit list is the myth that Apple has an inordinately large number of specialized designers working on various projects. When he was with the company, design teams consisted of roughly 100 people for core products, significantly less than other big names in the industry. Kawano conceded that Apple may be expanding these groups as part of a corporate reshuffling post-Steve Jobs.
Also discussed was Apple's attention to detail, which some believe is built into a rote design process. Kawano echoes previous reports that some of the most memorable and innovative details, like a screen shake when an iPhone user enters an incorrect password, are created during a designer or engineer's down time.
"It's almost impossible to come up with really innovative things when you have a deadline and schedule," he said.
Finally, Kawano dished on Steve Jobs, saying the late Apple cofounder's reputation of being passionate to the point of frightening is misunderstood. What Jobs wanted was the "best thing" and expected those working around him to want the same.
"He had trouble understanding people who didn't want that same thing and wondered why they'd be working for him if that was the case," Kawano said. "I think Steve had a very low tolerance for people who didn't care about stuff."
Although Kawano did not regularly interact with Jobs, he said the tech guru was "super accessible."
"That was interesting too, he was super demanding...but when it came to other things, he wanted to be very democratic, and to be treated like everyone else. And he was constantly struggling with those roles."
Mark Kawano, former Apple designer and creator of visual storytelling app Storehouse.
Source: Fast Company
Drawing on seven years of experience at Apple designing products like Aperture and iPhone, then later as a UX evangelist, Kawano shed light on how the company is able to churn out the innovative designs now synonymous with the Apple brand. In an interview with Fast Company, Kawano said he wanted to debunk myths surrounding Cupertino's design process.
The first target: Apple's design team. Kawano said there is a misconception that Apple is able to product high-quality, intricately detailed products because it has the best designers and design process.
"It's actually the engineering culture, and the way the organization is structured to appreciate and support design," Kawano said. "Everybody there is thinking about UX and design, not just the designers. And that's what makes everything about the product so much better...much more than any individual designer or design team."
At Apple, instead of having to deal with infighting and corporate bureaucracy, designers are able to spend their time on the task at hand. More interesting is how the company makes hires. Kawano feels almost everyone at Apple "thinks like a designer," each contributing to a common well-designed end product.
Second on Kawano's hit list is the myth that Apple has an inordinately large number of specialized designers working on various projects. When he was with the company, design teams consisted of roughly 100 people for core products, significantly less than other big names in the industry. Kawano conceded that Apple may be expanding these groups as part of a corporate reshuffling post-Steve Jobs.
Also discussed was Apple's attention to detail, which some believe is built into a rote design process. Kawano echoes previous reports that some of the most memorable and innovative details, like a screen shake when an iPhone user enters an incorrect password, are created during a designer or engineer's down time.
"It's almost impossible to come up with really innovative things when you have a deadline and schedule," he said.
Finally, Kawano dished on Steve Jobs, saying the late Apple cofounder's reputation of being passionate to the point of frightening is misunderstood. What Jobs wanted was the "best thing" and expected those working around him to want the same.
"He had trouble understanding people who didn't want that same thing and wondered why they'd be working for him if that was the case," Kawano said. "I think Steve had a very low tolerance for people who didn't care about stuff."
Although Kawano did not regularly interact with Jobs, he said the tech guru was "super accessible."
"That was interesting too, he was super demanding...but when it came to other things, he wanted to be very democratic, and to be treated like everyone else. And he was constantly struggling with those roles."
Comments
I really do miss Steve Jobs.
I wonder if Microsoft fans miss the other Steve as well.
I really do miss Steve Jobs.
Having actually met the guy a couple times when I worked at Apple HQ and him being a large role model in my life, I do too. It's still difficult to believe he is no longer with us.
I wonder if Microsoft fans miss the other Steve as well.
I am not sure if "miss" is the right word here. But I am sure that they notice his absence.
As in “with tomatoes on the way out.”
Yeah, like, "What happened to that festering boil on my ass..?"
Speaking of Festering...
you lucky son of a....
Funny, I miss Richard Feynman.
I wonder if Microsoft fans miss the other Steve as well.
The "other Steve?"
Who?
/s
I'm the same way. If you don't care, then you're wasting your time and mine. You're fired.
Me too.
If I were in a position to fire anyone, that is.
Seriously, there's nothing more annoying than working on a project with people who are not committed to excellence. I can take many of the initial bumps in the road that is a team project—split attention, naiveté, initial ignorance of the situation, confusion, etc. Every member of a team has their strength and weaknesses. But once we all get settled in and start on the project, everyone better be committed and making a full effort.
[B][I][SIZE=4]Well Said !
That's WHAT DIFFERENCIATES Apple from Other Internet BUGGIES Such As Google !!!
In that Context I Recommend Apple to Buy This Company instead of " Beats " by Less Than A Fiftieth Money They're Going to Spend, Not Because I'm JAPANESE.[COLOR=blue][/COLOR][/SIZE][/I][/B]
http://gigaom.com/2014/05/13/a-japanese-startup-unveils-a-long-lasting-and-safer-battery-made-from-carbon/
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We NEVER FORGET He Usted to Respond to e-mail Asking from Unknown Person Diligently.
The first target: Apple's design team. Kawano said there is a misconception that Apple is able to product high-quality, intricately detailed products because it has the best designers and design process.
"It's actually the engineering culture, and the way the organization is structured to appreciate and support design," Kawano said. "Everybody there is thinking about UX and design, not just the designers. And that's what makes everything about the product so much better...much more than any individual designer or design team."
At Apple, instead of having to deal with infighting and corporate bureaucracy, designers are able to spend their time on the task at hand. More interesting is how the company makes hires. Kawano feels almost everyone at Apple "thinks like a designer," each contributing to a common well-designed end product.
This is a great point.
I have to say I get tired of always hearing X & Y about Jony Ive (no offense to him.) He's frankly very lucky to get to work at a company that gets and appreciates design. It's also a company where the head of design has access to the top of the executive suite. Most important of all, everyone at Apple gets and appreciates design. The design process isn't an after thought, it's an integral to all activities right from the start. As a designer I can assure you, there is no other company like this.
It's also good to hear a designer singing the praises of engineers. We all hear about how Apple products are toys, etc. The fact is Apple has the best engineers in the business. An they are good enough to know the design is the glue that joins the viability of engineering, profitability, and desirability that makes Apple products great. Everyone at Apple knows that whatever they do, It has to satisfy all three factors. Most places only look at one or two of them.