Two perspectives on a designer who Steve Jobs could not hire

Re:Two perspectives on a designer who Steve Jobs could not hire by smoldesu on Tuesday August 24, 2021 @07:36PM (#28296363)

Apple's love for Dieter Rams has gotten them very far, but their recent pivot towards 'making the computer disappear' is at stark contrast with the design elements that he employed. Personally, I think we've gone as far as we can with those design cues: our tablets have been reduced to black slabs, and our computers arranged into thin silver clamshells. Apple's (re)introduction of color in the recent iMacs is a step in the right direction, but there's still so much of the 'domestic computer' design space that hasn't been explored yet. I think of Teenage Engineering and their colorful (albeit expensive) synthesizers, game consoles, and the various Homepod/Echo/Nest/Etc. smart assistants that now litter our home: these are all experiments in making the computer disappear, yet nobody seems to be paying much attention the field.

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Re:Two perspectives on a designer who Steve Jobs could not hire by dangus on Tuesday August 24, 2021 @09:07PM (#28296983)

I personally disagree! The computer disappearing is one of the most pure expressions of form following function.

In the iPhone or iMac, what's on the screen is what is important. Nothing else is important, so it's not there. One of Rams' principles: "Good design is as little design as possible."

Contrast that to a competing product like the ASUS ROG Phone: RGB lights, not-strictly-necessary cosmetic vents, asymmetrical lines, printed design patterns. Now THAT is a product that would make Dieter Rams throw up in his mouth!

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Re:Two perspectives on a designer who Steve Jobs could not hire by smoldesu on Tuesday August 24, 2021 @10:57PM (#28297572)

> The computer disappearing is one of the most pure expressions of form following function.

I actually agree wholeheartedly. Apple's devices are the apex of form following function, which is why their form advances so rarely: the functionality of the iPhone changes so little from year-to-year, that Apple doesn't really need to re-engineer much. Hell, the iPhone 12 is just a redux of the iPhone 5 footprint, an anachronism that's yet another great example of form meandering while function stagnates. The deficiencies in our current devices are clear: they're centralized, non-extensible, and exceptionally difficult to fix when they break. Apple profits off all three of those markets, so I have little faith that they intend to change anything there soon.

> Contrast that to a competing product like the ASUS ROG Phone

Don't make me (or Tim Cook, for that matter) laugh. The iPhone doesn't compete with the ROG Phone: they're ostentatiously different products. One is a gaming phone, the other is an iPhone. You're comparing a dune-buggy to a Ford Fiesta, which you're welcome to do, but will sway very few of their respective audiences.

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Re:Two perspectives on a designer who Steve Jobs could not hire by hinkley on Tuesday August 24, 2021 @08:34PM (#28296760)

Vacillating between understated and overstated lets you sell more product. A product I still buy, mind you, but I’m aware what’s going on.

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Re:Two perspectives on a designer who Steve Jobs could not hire by sangnoir on Wednesday August 25, 2021 @03:11PM (#28305623)

That makes it easy for people around you to see if you're using the latest device as well, or still stuck on some old device. I don't care for devices-as-fashion, but I feel bad for teenagers who can't afford to always have the latest iProduct.

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