To design compelling products and create a great user experience, Apple must have the best designers, right?
Not according to Mark Kawano, former user-experience evangelist and long-term designer with Apple. The secret lies in how the organization is ‘structured to appreciate and support design’, and the culture that results. Design is what people think about, focus on and value. Designers don’t have to fight to be heard. They aren’t at the low end of the status ladder. Design is core to the fabric of the company.
Sure, Apple has very good people. Like Google, they have a rigorous process to make sure they hire people who are a strong fit with the desired culture. But those people flourish because of the systemic support.
The reality of Apple is the reality of every successful business. It takes the right people with the right focus in the right environment. All three.
Your thoughts?
Michael
