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Design Like Apple: Seven Principles For Creating Insanely Great Products, Services, and Experiences
Implement the same principles that shaped Apple's approach to design
Apple sees design as a tool for creating beautiful experiences that convey a point of view down to the smallest detail--îfrom the tactile feedback of keyboard to the out-of-the-box experience of an iPhone package. And all of these capabilities are founded in a deep and rich embrace of what it means to be a designer. Design Like Apple uncovers the lessons from Apple's unique approach to product creation, manufacturing, delivery, and customer experience. Bridging creativity and commerce, this book will show you to how to truly Design Like Apple.
Apple sees design as a tool for creating beautiful experiences that convey a point of view down to the smallest detail--îfrom the tactile feedback of keyboard to the out-of-the-box experience of an iPhone package. And all of these capabilities are founded in a deep and rich embrace of what it means to be a designer. Design Like Apple uncovers the lessons from Apple's unique approach to product creation, manufacturing, delivery, and customer experience. Bridging creativity and commerce, this book will show you to how to truly Design Like Apple.
208 pages, Hardcover
First published June 12, 2012
27 people are currently reading
182 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
June 29, 2016
I like how he tries to simplify the concepts he's trying to discuss, but he could've done a better job at presenting his chapters, like Apple! As mentioned in one of the reviews, the book is not about designing like Apple, but rather design in general. Most of his stories are based on his experience or knowledge of non-Apple companies.
--
Quotes:
"Whether you’re a trained creative professional or someone without even a passing interest in the world of design, you will have noticed that everything Apple does has an approachable simplicity and purity that sets it apart from most other technology companies in the world. There is a discipline and consistency in everything Apple creates and a relentless drive toward innovation."
--
"In my mind, design is more than just the way a product looks or functions. It is a way of thinking about the world and how it works."
--
"Over the past two decades, the increased focus on design in the popular media and culture and in business and management schools has drawn attention to how exceptional design can help companies exceed their corporate goals, even if the company doesn’t have a history of design or its management doesn’t have a design background."
--
"I studied mechanical engineering at the University of Texas at Austin, but after working for a couple of years in this field I knew that a purely technical career wasn’t enough for me. So I enrolled in Stanford University’s Joint Program in Design, so called because it was truly a collaborative effort sponsored by the departments of mechanical engineering and art."
--
"I’d like to add another meaning: Design as an experimental mindset, a way of thinking about things that culminates in a fresh approach or in something new or innovative. "
--
"Apple used design to create a product with beauty, ingenuity, and charisma. These three qualities can result only when you are committed to creating extreme emotional engagement through the design of your products."
--
"ognitive scientist Don Norman writes in his book Emotional Design that there are three emotional processes at work when we encounter the world around us: behavioral, visceral, and reflective. We’re always sizing up things in the world to determine whether they might be useful, comfortable, delicious, desirable, puzzling, funny, or any of a thousand other descriptions. And we’re continuously shifting between the three different emotional modes in concert with the things and situations we encounter. 1 Norman argues that a product triggers emotional responses, and whether we pay attention or not depends on our fight-or-flight responses. If you’re aware of this connection and use design skillfully, you can invoke these trigger responses. "
--
Quoting Nancy Duarte:
"because so many products are similar, 'the one that makes an emotional connection wins.'"
--
"Apple’s single most defining designer attribute is simplicity. The forms of every Apple product are geometric, symmetrical, and aligned to create a purity that is hard to copy. "
--
"answers these questions about your own projects and the products of your company:
1 How do your products and services rate on a scale of 1 to 10 when it comes to emotional engagement? A 10 on all dimensions gets you to beauty, ingenuity, and charisma. Be explicit about where you are strong and where you can improve.
2 Does your organization know what beauty means for your brand and customers? Are you aligned around a clear expression, like Apple’s commitment to simplicity?
3 Are your company’s products ingenious, or do they misalign technology with the customer needs? What is their intent? How do they rate on the charisma scale?
4 Where are the weak points in the product, services, advertising, retail, and support?
5 Is design considered essential within your organization, or is it window dressing? If you are a designer, accumulate the stories and evidence of how design makes a difference, and bring them to your organization in the context of how they can help create value."
--
Quoting Jobs:
"It’s really hard to design products by focus groups. A lot of times, people don’t know what they want until you show it to them"
--
"Designers see things in the world in detail because they spend time creating their own things. They can imagine things that don’t yet exist, because they have experience in seeing and creating. "
--
"To design like Apple is to establish and nurture a set of strong, nonnegotiable design values that create the extreme emotional engagement of beauty, ingenuity, and charisma throughout the company."
--
"There is almost no limit to the forms of a prototype. An important mandate is that prototypes are made in the roughest, fastest form possible while still answering the important questions at hand."
--
"Prototypes should be made in the quickest and easiest way possible to make ideas tangible and shareable. "
--
"Organizations that want to harness more creativity are coming around to the idea that they need to have a space for creative chaos, which we call designing out loud."
--
Quotes:
"Whether you’re a trained creative professional or someone without even a passing interest in the world of design, you will have noticed that everything Apple does has an approachable simplicity and purity that sets it apart from most other technology companies in the world. There is a discipline and consistency in everything Apple creates and a relentless drive toward innovation."
--
"In my mind, design is more than just the way a product looks or functions. It is a way of thinking about the world and how it works."
--
"Over the past two decades, the increased focus on design in the popular media and culture and in business and management schools has drawn attention to how exceptional design can help companies exceed their corporate goals, even if the company doesn’t have a history of design or its management doesn’t have a design background."
--
"I studied mechanical engineering at the University of Texas at Austin, but after working for a couple of years in this field I knew that a purely technical career wasn’t enough for me. So I enrolled in Stanford University’s Joint Program in Design, so called because it was truly a collaborative effort sponsored by the departments of mechanical engineering and art."
--
"I’d like to add another meaning: Design as an experimental mindset, a way of thinking about things that culminates in a fresh approach or in something new or innovative. "
--
"Apple used design to create a product with beauty, ingenuity, and charisma. These three qualities can result only when you are committed to creating extreme emotional engagement through the design of your products."
--
"ognitive scientist Don Norman writes in his book Emotional Design that there are three emotional processes at work when we encounter the world around us: behavioral, visceral, and reflective. We’re always sizing up things in the world to determine whether they might be useful, comfortable, delicious, desirable, puzzling, funny, or any of a thousand other descriptions. And we’re continuously shifting between the three different emotional modes in concert with the things and situations we encounter. 1 Norman argues that a product triggers emotional responses, and whether we pay attention or not depends on our fight-or-flight responses. If you’re aware of this connection and use design skillfully, you can invoke these trigger responses. "
--
Quoting Nancy Duarte:
"because so many products are similar, 'the one that makes an emotional connection wins.'"
--
"Apple’s single most defining designer attribute is simplicity. The forms of every Apple product are geometric, symmetrical, and aligned to create a purity that is hard to copy. "
--
"answers these questions about your own projects and the products of your company:
1 How do your products and services rate on a scale of 1 to 10 when it comes to emotional engagement? A 10 on all dimensions gets you to beauty, ingenuity, and charisma. Be explicit about where you are strong and where you can improve.
2 Does your organization know what beauty means for your brand and customers? Are you aligned around a clear expression, like Apple’s commitment to simplicity?
3 Are your company’s products ingenious, or do they misalign technology with the customer needs? What is their intent? How do they rate on the charisma scale?
4 Where are the weak points in the product, services, advertising, retail, and support?
5 Is design considered essential within your organization, or is it window dressing? If you are a designer, accumulate the stories and evidence of how design makes a difference, and bring them to your organization in the context of how they can help create value."
--
Quoting Jobs:
"It’s really hard to design products by focus groups. A lot of times, people don’t know what they want until you show it to them"
--
"Designers see things in the world in detail because they spend time creating their own things. They can imagine things that don’t yet exist, because they have experience in seeing and creating. "
--
"To design like Apple is to establish and nurture a set of strong, nonnegotiable design values that create the extreme emotional engagement of beauty, ingenuity, and charisma throughout the company."
--
"There is almost no limit to the forms of a prototype. An important mandate is that prototypes are made in the roughest, fastest form possible while still answering the important questions at hand."
--
"Prototypes should be made in the quickest and easiest way possible to make ideas tangible and shareable. "
--
"Organizations that want to harness more creativity are coming around to the idea that they need to have a space for creative chaos, which we call designing out loud."
February 16, 2014
This was a fairly quick read and could make a nice introduction to Apple's overarching design philosophies for someone outside the design sphere (e.g., a business executive). It wasn't bad, but the author focused too much time on companies other than Apple (simply because he himself had worked with those companies and not with Apple). Again, that would have been fine if this were a general design book, but it's called "Design Like APPLE."
January 13, 2021
OK book if you are completely new to both Apple's design philosophies and product development/design, which I would say most people looking to read a book like this are not. TL;DR - make sure the core and/or management of your organisation has a design focus and let customer need and the design lead the way of the technology and not the other way around. Also, Edson claims that he believes that the experimental way that software companies like Google develop things will be less desirable to a customer first way of developing products. First off I don't really see how it's a binary decision, why it has to be one or the other, and secondly, he's comparing a hardware focused company with a software focused company which in itself is kinda wonky. Needless to say, he couldn't have been more wrong, looking back to 2012 when this was written.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 13, 2022
The storyline of this book revolves around creativity, picks up a lot of examples around design first mindset. But where it loses is in the core objective. It hardly scratches the surface of what and how apple thinks. He has a third party view on how apple operates and not really an insider view.
Most of the stories don’t get to the conclusion in terms of what make the design choice successful and how they are doing after those choices were implemented.
A book to potentially skip!
Most of the stories don’t get to the conclusion in terms of what make the design choice successful and how they are doing after those choices were implemented.
A book to potentially skip!
March 27, 2021
В названии книжки фигурируют слова «Дизайн» и «Эпл», но эта книга не про это. Это пособие для менеджеров среднего и высшего звена. Книга для людей, которые знают, что есть такая штука как дизайн, но как он работает - имеют очень слабое представление и Apple выступает как пример компании с культом дизайна.
В основном автор пишет о своем опыте работы в Oral-B и других фирмах попутно приплетая Apple в рассказ, но все его примеры - пересказ книжки Айзексона про Стива Джобса. Книга разбита на принципы и удобно, что в конце есть резюме по каждому из принципов, не обязательно читать все, пробежал главу глазами, открыл конец и стало все понятно, что хотел сказать автор.
Книжка читается быстро, но растянул я ее надолго, потому что скучно и я это и так все знаю и как менеджер, и как дизайнер.
В основном автор пишет о своем опыте работы в Oral-B и других фирмах попутно приплетая Apple в рассказ, но все его примеры - пересказ книжки Айзексона про Стива Джобса. Книга разбита на принципы и удобно, что в конце есть резюме по каждому из принципов, не обязательно читать все, пробежал главу глазами, открыл конец и стало все понятно, что хотел сказать автор.
Книжка читается быстро, но растянул я ее надолго, потому что скучно и я это и так все знаю и как менеджер, и как дизайнер.
November 9, 2016
The book illustrates the design principle, understanding your customer, identifying their needs, developing a profile / collage of images of a user. Developing an empathy map and then using the princples of what makes Apple great to design a product for your customer.
The title may be misleading, but if you reference the most promient aspects of the Apple design principles and design thinking, this book will guide you on your journey.
Its a quick read, I got through it in a week, reading each of the 7 principles.
The title may be misleading, but if you reference the most promient aspects of the Apple design principles and design thinking, this book will guide you on your journey.
Its a quick read, I got through it in a week, reading each of the 7 principles.
June 19, 2023
This is by 2023 standards a rather outdated book about design that doesn't offer many insights about apple itself.
Am I the only one that thinks that thinking of designers as arbiters of taste is somewhat cringy? Design vision is much less about taste than it is about bussiness needs, and customers needs and knowing who customers are than it is about taste per se.
Am I the only one that thinks that thinking of designers as arbiters of taste is somewhat cringy? Design vision is much less about taste than it is about bussiness needs, and customers needs and knowing who customers are than it is about taste per se.
September 13, 2022
Informative, yet inspiring
I think the apple world is way more sophisticated than that but it was a good introduction to anyone who’s interested in design in general.
I think the apple world is way more sophisticated than that but it was a good introduction to anyone who’s interested in design in general.
January 5, 2024
A steady read but decent, especially for design enthusiasts. 🍏📚🖌️
February 12, 2024
This book did not provide in-depth research on design approaches, philosophy, work ethics and other methodology applied by Apple. Felt superficial and some sections redundant.
January 1, 2024
This book really walks its talk: gorgeous, no-frills design like Apple’s products. The content is less impressive: take Agile 101 (“deliver what customers need”) and use top-notch engineering practices to deliver overwhelming utility that will delight your users.
To derive design principles from just one company’s example (i.e., Apple; with the occasional IKEA thrown in) is not scientifically valid, though. But it does make a fun reading experience, especially with such a beautiful book.
To derive design principles from just one company’s example (i.e., Apple; with the occasional IKEA thrown in) is not scientifically valid, though. But it does make a fun reading experience, especially with such a beautiful book.
November 24, 2015
As a designer I agree with everything said in this book. By that I don't mean that I think Apple make no mistakes and they are the best at everything, but that their design ethos is something that you want to emulate.
The main message in this book is that Design one of the most important aspects in any product or service as it means so much more than you think and can be the difference between success and failure. It is one of the most commonly overlooked aspects of any project (in my experience) and for people who don't understand design it is all too easy to belittle its importance.
This book gives a number of really strong examples of how you ignore design at your own peril and how by considering it from the start you will have a much stronger product or service.
My only slight issue with this book is the title. It seems to me to be geared too much towards designers where as this is a book that everyone should read. The second issue is that it specifies 7 specific principles. I am sure those principles are all listed in the book but the concept of 7 principles standing out was lost to me. I listened to the audiobook of this rather than read it so it might come through stronger in print, but in the audiobook I would struggle to tell you the definitive 7 principles.
Still, this is a very good book that I sincerely hope people read and start paying attention to.
The main message in this book is that Design one of the most important aspects in any product or service as it means so much more than you think and can be the difference between success and failure. It is one of the most commonly overlooked aspects of any project (in my experience) and for people who don't understand design it is all too easy to belittle its importance.
This book gives a number of really strong examples of how you ignore design at your own peril and how by considering it from the start you will have a much stronger product or service.
My only slight issue with this book is the title. It seems to me to be geared too much towards designers where as this is a book that everyone should read. The second issue is that it specifies 7 specific principles. I am sure those principles are all listed in the book but the concept of 7 principles standing out was lost to me. I listened to the audiobook of this rather than read it so it might come through stronger in print, but in the audiobook I would struggle to tell you the definitive 7 principles.
Still, this is a very good book that I sincerely hope people read and start paying attention to.
December 31, 2014
It didn't really do it for me. John Edson never worked at Apple, and I'm inclined to agree that "Design like LUNAR" (the design company that Edson is currently the President of) would have been a more fitting title. While Steve Job's Apple is undeniably the poster child for "design", I don't think that the author provided any truly groundbreaking insight into Apple's process. Edson's real contribution comes from his sharing of his experiences at LUNAR where the firm worked closely with major corporations on innovative projects. It wasn't by any means a bad book, but was by no means groundbreaking and I doubt its viability as an instruction manual for actual designers. All of the examples in the book are still relevant and recognizable. And the Pontiac Aztek is still the ugliest car ever made.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 16, 2013
It's hard not to see this book as a glowing advert for Steve Jobs and Apple. Yet - the author is very succinct in relating the importance of design in the development of truly great products. Jobs was a master and created an environment where all Apple products began with design rather than the technology. It's a great behind the mind look at an incredible talent. I recommend this book for anyone who appreciates design and doesn't mind a bit of technical gobblety gook thrown in.
Praise aside -- DO NOT get the audio version. The reader's speech pattern is extremely annoying and detracts from the great information. (The reader punctuates and swallows the end of most sentences... oy. Send the boy to diction school - please!)
Praise aside -- DO NOT get the audio version. The reader's speech pattern is extremely annoying and detracts from the great information. (The reader punctuates and swallows the end of most sentences... oy. Send the boy to diction school - please!)
August 5, 2013
Fantastic little book! The structure and format of the book beautifully conveys Edson's argument. Practicality and inspiration are harmonized. The brainstorming questions at the end of each chapter bring each concept home; Edson has crafted the questions so well that you can start answering and applying them immediately to improve whatever you did before or after sitting down to read, whether it was housework and cooking or writing and researching.
Pretty quick read, formatting makes it easy to absorb, and lots of examples across a range of goods and services.
Get the book.
Pretty quick read, formatting makes it easy to absorb, and lots of examples across a range of goods and services.
Get the book.
October 21, 2016
This book is really about how Apple tries to avoid shiping shit. Start by doing a final product as soon as possible and then iterate on it is not the Apple way.
Apple, and nowadays Google and probably every great company, start by doing prototypes, first of low fidelity, then iterate on the fidelity and on the concept of the product, and only then, launch the product.
Searching for ways to get involved in a new way lifestyle that a product will create is the holy grail of the modern companies
Apple, and nowadays Google and probably every great company, start by doing prototypes, first of low fidelity, then iterate on the fidelity and on the concept of the product, and only then, launch the product.
Searching for ways to get involved in a new way lifestyle that a product will create is the holy grail of the modern companies
January 4, 2014
For a system architect and technologist, this book is a must read. It base valuable insights and elaborates a philosophy of design that is worth studying. At different part of the book, it is hard to read. The author is attempting to explain concepts and ideas that are new or difficult or both.
I recommend this book for a broad audience of engineers, architects, technologists, and designers.
I recommend this book for a broad audience of engineers, architects, technologists, and designers.
September 1, 2016
Good introduction into design approach in technology be it product or services. It's all about the client centric experience, right from the start how the box looks like when it's delivered. And it's not about being cheap and cutting corners. Apple does not cut corners at any stage of the build yet have a terrific GP on their SMALL line of products. Design is about not being everything to everybody. Good intro into the concept, easy to ready and comprehend.
March 2, 2016
I wish I could say this was insightful. I wish I could but this is just a fan boy regurgitating what's already everywhere. I tried very hard to learn something but the fan-boy-ness of it just put me off. Do not recommend.
I wish he wrote a book about what he learned at LUNAR. That would be original and insightful.
I wish he wrote a book about what he learned at LUNAR. That would be original and insightful.
June 9, 2013
Provides a few insights into Apple from discussions with former employees and several highlights from Walter Isaacson's book on Steve Jobs. Also heard a lot about Lunar's portfolio (author's company) from a sophisticated sounding reader.
January 6, 2016
This book may not make you a Apple designer but will create a framework for your thought process for better designs.
Why You Should Read: This will help you get your idea with a better design, a better prototypes, and finally a customer likeable product.
Why You Should Read: This will help you get your idea with a better design, a better prototypes, and finally a customer likeable product.
August 13, 2012
Wonderful and inspiring book by a wonderful and inspiring teacher. Thanks, John!!!
August 9, 2012
LIked it a lot. Not a book about design but more about culture, etc. Worth it
October 4, 2012
It's an ok book. I didn't find it to be extremely insightful.
September 18, 2013
"Design Like Apple" reads like a padded outline. Way too short on the illustrative anecdotes. Spends too much time quoting Isaacson's biography of Steve Jobs. Very disappointing.
September 27, 2015
Notes -
1. Nurture a non-negotiable cohesive culture in the company.
2. Build, touch and feel enough number of prototypes.
3. Single curation point for all your products.
1. Nurture a non-negotiable cohesive culture in the company.
2. Build, touch and feel enough number of prototypes.
3. Single curation point for all your products.
July 31, 2017
Nice introduction to the importance of design for product in current time focusing on Apple product, as well as not-so-great products.
Develop a sense of empathy and a human-centered design ethos that put you in touch with your customers and their needs. Amid all that careful listening, temper the empathy with your own voice that is spoken loudly and clearly and with consistency and conviction. Design is not just fairy dust. It is hard work. Design is a prism through which to see the world and all things in it, and this will lead you to creating insanely great products.
Quotes:
You can't just ask customers what they want and then try to give that to them. By the time you get it built, they'll want something new. - Steve Jobs
It's really hard to design products by focus groups. A lot of times, people don't know what they want until you show it to them.
Design is about being intentional at every point.
Design culture. Design isn't any one team. There are people taking risks all over the company.
If design is isolated in a department and doesn't filter across the entire organization, it's easy to dampen or even kill it's impact.
Your product is the ultimate message.
Products do not exist in isolation; they are part of an ever-expanding universe that emanates from the product to context around it, and spreads from there to systems, experiences, and platforms that surrounds the customers and create loyalty to the brand.
Prototype to perfection.
Design is for people.
Commit to a unique voice.
Develop a sense of empathy and a human-centered design ethos that put you in touch with your customers and their needs. Amid all that careful listening, temper the empathy with your own voice that is spoken loudly and clearly and with consistency and conviction. Design is not just fairy dust. It is hard work. Design is a prism through which to see the world and all things in it, and this will lead you to creating insanely great products.
Quotes:
You can't just ask customers what they want and then try to give that to them. By the time you get it built, they'll want something new. - Steve Jobs
It's really hard to design products by focus groups. A lot of times, people don't know what they want until you show it to them.
Design is about being intentional at every point.
Design culture. Design isn't any one team. There are people taking risks all over the company.
If design is isolated in a department and doesn't filter across the entire organization, it's easy to dampen or even kill it's impact.
Your product is the ultimate message.
Products do not exist in isolation; they are part of an ever-expanding universe that emanates from the product to context around it, and spreads from there to systems, experiences, and platforms that surrounds the customers and create loyalty to the brand.
Prototype to perfection.
Design is for people.
Commit to a unique voice.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews