Five Rules to Design Like Apple [Video]

5 Rules for Designing from the men behind Apple’s biggest design decisions

In 2012, the newest ipad sold at a rate of 694 ipads per minute during the 1st 72 hours.

ipad mini image appleCan you imagine creating a product that people would purchase at such an amazing rate?

If you sold 694 of whatever you invented TOTAL, that would be a feat in itself, but per MINUTE? Amazing. But the answer is not as simple as copying Apple’s designs. They are able to do what they do because of deeply embedded philosophies of design pushed down by the design leaders of Apple, Steve Jobs and Jonathan Ive.

Apple is able to do this because of their famous ability to create products that are not only aesthetically pleasing but easy to use. Below is a fun video talking about 5 rules of design derived from the philosophies of the leaders of Apple.

“For you to sleep well at night, the aesthetic the quality has to be carried all the way through” – Steve Jobs

RULE #1 – Don’t Skimp on Anything

Don’t skimp on sections of design just because they aren’t in the customers main line of sight
– High quality design is all encompassing

RULE #2 – Everyone must understand the Product

Every employee in the company must truly understand what the product they are building is, how it works, and how it will benefit customers or society in order to get the design just right.

“It is so important to be light on your feet, inquisitive and interested in being wrong” – Jonathan Ive

RULE #3 – Motivated by Failure & Optimistic about Change

Good design is produced by people who are motivated by failures and optimistic about change.

– Focus and simplicity – Steve Jobs Mantra

RULE #4 – Simple, Beautiful over Bells & Whistles

It’s harder to design something that is simply beautiful than it is to just stuff a product full of bells and whistles. But the marketplace is looking for clean, flawless, and operational design.

Our products are tools and we don’t want design to get in the way – Jonathan Ive

RULE #5 – Quality Product over Flash

Product design isn’t meant to stick out like a sore thumb, but rather a high quality product, people come to recognize as an extension of themselves.

  • What do you like best about apple’s product designs? Looks? Ease of use? Quality?

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5 Comments

  1. Big Apple-fanboy here (and proud of it!). For me, its the user-friendliness of their products and the way that Apple markets their products! Compare any iOS-based device with one running Android and you’ll notice the difference straight away. People usually struggle to find stuff in Android phones and their UI’s can be, well, overwhelming especially on first sight. Compare these aspects with an iPhone or an iPad and the differences are immediately clear!

    There’s a reason why Apple’s been so successful at what they do – it’s all in the design!

  2. Definitely agree with Rule # 2. Each and every single one of your personnel needs to be onboard with the idea. If i share the same kind of passion about a product (for eg) as my boss does, for instance, I will be able to understand it and sell it in a better way. Multiply this by x (with ‘x’ being the no of employees in your organization) and it will create a ripple effect, with the whole organization behind the the vision and the idea of the management!

  3. I like #4 keep it simple. So many times people over think and completely ruin an otherwise great product. Simplicity and functionality is so important.

  4. Great post! I love and admire the design of Apple products. It’s no secret that I am an ardent Apple Fan Boy and proud to be one.Apple has managed to pull off is the ability to create new product categories that consumers find irresistible. It’s hard to imagine life without an iPhone or iPad now! And their inventions spawned untold volumes of “wannabes,” which has been great for competition and further innovation.

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