iPhone presentation
Originally uploaded by Dan_H.

One distinction many people make when defining a design project is whether the design will be another evolution of an existing technique, set of tools, or technologies, or if it will be a revolutionary implementation. This decision is most often made implicitly, generally without any direct thought about revolutionary design…the creation of ideas that enable a new paradigm of designed interactions.

Such was the case in the mobile phone industry until last month. For years we had seen absolute crap when it came to the design of mobile phones. Motorola, Nokia, LG, Samsung…they’re all guilty. Each of them simply evolved their phone solutions, simply adding functonality year after year, rather than assessing how users’ experiences might be enhanced as technology evolved.

Now, Apple has designed the iPhone, which rethinks how people can interact with their mobile phones. Apple didn’t simply sit around and design the next thing that makes sense…they did the leg work of thinking how the mobile phone could be simplified, how specific interactions could be made easier, how to make functionality make better sense.

Why was Apple able to do this? Why is it ok for them to rethink the design of the phone, while all the other big names just sat around and evolved? I’ve got a few ideas:

1. They had nothing to lose.
2. They’re not afraid of losing a few customers to excite many others.
3. They realize that good design doesn’t necessarily cater to everyone, but works well for those who are meant to use it.
4. Design is a first class citizen at Apple.

We should all take a lesson from Apple and their iPhone. Sometimes playing it safe, and simply evolving, is not the best progress. Sometimes it is ok to shock and awe…when the end product is much better than anything else available. We need to rethink our interactions with customers, and not necessarily just stand by the same ol’ same old, but rethinking the way the computer can enhance human performance.