Bridge the Gap

Good artists copy, great artists steal. Pablo Picasso

Steve Jobs had paid homage in the past to Pablo Picasso within the Mac OS “Finder” icon.

On his return to Apple, he again showed his admiration of Picasso in the 1997 “Here’s to the Crazy Ones” TV commercial which introduced the Think Different campaign.

U ser Experience Design (UX) is nothing new. It’s always been with us. Like common sense. Great designers and companies, regardless of the types of things they design, have always understood the importance of experience, and of understanding who will be using their product and in what context that use will occur.

One notable example would be Dieter Rams’s design work at Bruan. A major inspiration and influence on Steve Jobs and Jonathan Ive.

All too much of the man-made is ugly, inefficient, depressing chaos. Dieter Rams

In August 1997 Apple Corporation was baptized into the world of User Experience by a few men led by one man Steve Jobs. He made it Apple’s complete DNA. Period. Because it was always part of his. An individual.

And by way of the Apple Universe (iPod, iPhone, iPad, iTunes, Apple Stores, App Store, and iOS) Apple, redefined user experience for the mass market and turned it up to eleven.

He got ideas in his head and the hell with what anybody else wanted to do. Former Apple Board member Arthur Rock who in 1985 planned Jobs ouster from Apple.

On his triumphant return to Apple, Steve Jobs put a dent in the universe.

So why is there still so much badly produced User Experience in web, mobile and digital product experience? Maturity! What we’ve done is take these concepts and methods and expose them to people and companies working in the digital space. A space that is still very immature with regard to how to design well. Think of the maturity and history of Architecture when viewing and visiting the Guggenheim museum designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and the User Experience you will carry with you well after your visit. The memory and wealth of experience. Then look at Google, Amazon and Netflix web, mobile and product experience. Babes in the woods that still are not mature enough to even copy Apple. I give credit to Samsung who at least has learned to mimic.

Wikipedia’s definition is as follow: User Experience Design is the process of enhancing customer satisfaction and loyalty by improving the usability, ease of use, and pleasure provided in the interaction between the customer and the product.

Funny video examples of bad User Experience Design

* Top of page image: Great Norway Serpent, or Sea Orm, is the most famous of the many influential sea monsters depicted and described by 16th-century ecclesiastic, cartographer, and historian Olaus Magnus.