Four snippets from one interesting article …
To whatever degree Apple can be said to make products with a distinctive genetic code, they can also be said to have inherited most of their traits from a single parent: founder Steve Jobs.
There were three evaluations required at the inception of a product idea: a marketing requirement document, an engineering requirement document, and a user-experience document,” [usability legend and Apple’s VP of advanced technology from 1993 to 1998, Don] Norman recalls. [Senior VP of creative at Frog Design, Mark] Rolston elaborates: “Marketing is what people want; engineering is what we can do; user experience is ‘Here’s how people like to do things.'”
The businessman wants to create something for everyone, which leads to products that are middle of the road,” says [Apple’s director of industrial design from 1989 to early 1996, Robert] Brunner. “It becomes about consensus, and that’s why you rarely see the spark of genius.
Jobs is a dictator, but with good taste.
There is something to be said for a dictatorship like that, I guess?