Over the past five years, Apple Inc. has amazingly transformed from a niche computer maker to a global consumer electronics powerhouse armed with one of the world's most powerful brands.
While Apple and its visionary chief executive, Steve Jobs, are basking in the success of products such as the iPhone, iPod and MacBook, the company's biggest success may be its leading role in thrusting design into the spotlight.
Once viewed by many as a frill or afterthought, design is now being enthusiastically embraced as a key ingredient in how products and services are developed and, as important, how people use and interact with them.
“Apple has done a lot to bring design out of the studio as it were and into the boardroom,” says David Becker, president of PhilippeBecker, a branding and packaging design agency based in San Francisco.
“Apple has placed design front and centre as part of the product. It is no longer a nice-to-have, a veneer or a decoration, which is how design used to be perceived,” Mr. Becker says.
Allan Haley, director of words and letters at Monotype Imaging, which licenses fonts to consumers and businesses such as Bell Mobility, says the growing focus on design has changed how his company is participating in the development of products.
Rather than providing the veneer as a product was nearly completed, Monotype is being invited to get involved early in the development process because fonts are now seen as a key part of design and product creation, Mr. Haley says. “We are collaborating more with designers and technicians to build a product together.”
Apple's impact on design extends far beyond the world of computers or mobile devices. Its influence can be seen in everything from website design and software development to typography, consumer products and even toothbrushes.
“Apple's design influences extend to food products and clothing. It goes into everything,” Mr. Becker says. “The design movement has gone into other industries and very much influences what people expect from products. Consumers expect the [design] bar is always going higher and higher.”
What's particularly impressive about Apple is how design is evident in everything it does. It can be seen throughout the corporate ecosystem, including the company's campus and its retail stores, which are spacious, well-lit, uncluttered and comfortable, a stark contrast to the typical stack-‘em-high approach within the big box-dominated retail landscape.
The focus on design and the user experience is also evident in Apple's product packaging. Opening a MacBook box, for example, is almost a religious experience. Many Apple customers keep the original packaging as part of the ownership experience.
In many respects, Apple's philosophical approach has established a benchmark for designers around the world, regardless of industry. When they talk about Apple, they use terms such as simplicity, elegance and restraint.
Apple iPhone showing an application for skiers.
The company's work has resonated so well that it has set the standard for others – in part due to demand from clients.
As more Apple computers are used within businesses, the more senior executives start to believe that design needs to reflect the look, feel and use of their day-to-day computing experience, says Axle Davids, founder and CEO of Toronto-based Distility, a branding agency.
“When we have been doing branding work and it's time to work on the user interface, you will have people who will literally say, ‘Can you make it like this?' and they are referencing Apple products,” Mr. Davids says.
Apple's stature as a design leader has sparked a renaissance. Today, design occupies a front-row seat at the strategic and tactical table right alongside the MBAs and marketing and sales teams.
Industries have discovered design as a competitive advantage, says Monty Montague, design principal with BOLT Group, a brand strategist based in Charlotte, N.C.
“There is a crusade afoot – led by Roger Martin, dean of the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto – to apply design processes and ‘design thinking' to business problems large and small,” Mr. Montague says. “Be prepared to see executives in all business types touting the power of design and design thinking to achieve innovation success.
“Team Apple didn't start this design train, but they may be the strongest locomotive going today.”
An indication of how design has taken on renewed importance is the growing debate about whether future corporate leaders should come from business schools or whether their training should include more critical and creative thinking.
Apple's status as the world's most influential design-driven company has much to do with the strategic vision laid out by Mr. Jobs. Having a strong leader like him ensures that design can play a significant role, says Mr. Becker of PhilippeBecker. Companies can have a difficult time quantifying how much return-on-investment design can generate compared with something more tangible, such as an additional piece of machinery.
As design becomes recognized as a key element in building strong brands, Mr. Becker says it will become difficult for senior executives to dismiss the idea that development of products that resonate with consumers hinges on top-notch design.
