Longtime Industrial Designer Leaving Apple's Design Team

[thekeyring]

Steve Jobs nad albo picked John Sculley and then cried.

You think he didn't learn from his mistake? When he returned to Apple he didn't just replace the CEO, but the entire executive team and got rid of a load of the staff.
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Yes what worked for Apple when Steve was alive and what will work without his oversight are two completely different teams. The ability to sit back and take Steve's all or nothing attitude for years, then all of a sudden have to stand up on your own requires two different mindsets.

So I think Jobs picked exactly the right people for Apple when he was leading it, and exactly the wrong people for after he left.

Even though he had a few times where he wasn't running Apple because of ill health, you don't think he might have spotted this when he returned?

 

[simonmet]

Methinks no one else wanted the poisoned chalice of being the successor to Steve. Even if Steve wanted someone else, Tim was the only one willing to take the role.

When you're faced with imminent death I'm not sure how much the future of a company matters anyway. Steve had surely let go of Apple again before he died.

I'm looking forward to Apple post-Cook.

 

[iZac]

It's telling that Macrumours used the turd that is the iPhone 6 design as the accompanying image to this story. They must think very little of him

 

[recklesslife85]

Apple have the most boring design team on the planet. Ive is awful yet gets praise, he needs to grow some balls and stop being a yes man to Cook. iOS looks like it was designed by a child in areas and not a single good product design since the iPhone 5. Fanboys will say otherwise though

 

[MacBH928]

Probably because he didn't have a powerful enough desktop to work on...

 

[thekeyring]

Yes what worked for Apple when Steve was alive and what will work without his oversight are two completely different teams. The ability to sit back and take Steve's all or nothing attitude for years, then all of a sudden have to stand up on your own requires two different mindsets.

So I think Jobs picked exactly the right people for Apple when he was leading it, and exactly the wrong people for after he left.

But that's not how things were run. "Steve did everything and no one had a sense of self" isn't true. Look at iTunes for Windows - that was an Apple decision, not a Steve decision.
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To be perfectly fair and honest? Based on hind site?

Yes, I think he picked a crappy team. Without Steve job's to lead the team and be the guy who said "No" or "yes" and controlled the people under him, the current leadership team seems to be very stuck in a mindset that They are always right, because they've been right in the past. I think many of the people he picked for the team, without him directing them, are pathetically lost.

This is Hubris. The current executive team seems very VERY full of Hubris lately.

I think some of the U-turns they've made with the Watch show they don't always think they're right. Personal communication - a tentpole feature at launch - has been forgotten about. The side button now controls app switching. The gold Edition now dropped.

"We're right about iPhone screen size!" with iPhone 5... and then the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus.

Like usual, this Apple criticism seems contradictory to me. You say they're sticking to their guns too much - thinking they're right because they've been right in the past. Others say Apple has no vision, and changes its mind too often.
[doublepost=1491299303][/doublepost]

No it wasn't a one-off because he also picked John Sculley -- who eventually led the cabal to boot Jobs from Apple. Of course history tells us we all benefited from that but it was a hell of a time for Apple those san-Jobs years and Jobs came back just in the nick of time. Just.

Jobs was genius but not all of his ideas were and not all of his staffing picks either. No human is perfect. Not one of us.
So yes, Jobs often picked people he thought would be good decisions-makers and leaders and was proven wrong.



Yes, I think it's quite possible that Tim Cook actually thinks good design is created by magic.

Even if Tim Cook was another mistake (odd as Tim had been running the company as CEO multiple times while Steve was away on medical leave - why didn't Steve spot problems then) are you saying the rest of the team also were? Because they all support Tim.

 

[Kameha]

good new!!! otherwise the iPhone will stick with the same design for 3 more years. iPhone 6, 6s, 7, 7s, 7ss, 7sss, 7sss, 7ssssssssssssssss so on...

 

[Bacillus]

He probably got sick of designing the same things year after year.

In a competent, talented design team that has accomplished so much over the last decades, there must be soo much frustration over the last 4 years.
These people get energy from changing the world with stunning design, which is essentially where they live for. Look at Marc Newson, an arrived designer. Did he accomplish anything after joining Apple ?
If - for whatever reason - such a colossal company and huge design department launch an abysmal number of new designs a year, there must be something structurally wrong and it is a miracle that people remain there (or it must be the easy money)

My guess: all the pilot designs of the last 4 years got denied or disapproved somewhere along the pipeline, as the milking factions within Apple decide that it is easier to pay off the designers and NOT invest in new innovative direction.
Arrggh, politics in major corporations...

 

[jkruehne]

…But in the last 10 years for Macs and 4 years for iPhone nothing really changed in its design. …

Hmm I never understand why a new phone has to be "totally new" just to be new? That's just for the bored masses waiting for new entertainment … a device (e.g.phone) is a combination of HW and SW, and the 6 (6s, 7) form factor still works fine. New just to be new isn't relevant, I guess ??? Lorem ipsum.

 

[Bacillus]

Hmm I never understand why a new phone has to be "totally new" just to be new? That's just for the bored masses waiting for new entertainment … a device (e.g.phone) is a combination of HW and SW, and the 6 (6s, 7) form factor still works fine. New just to be new isn't relevant, I guess ??? Lorem ipsum.

OK then, while there is no difference between smartphones and brick stones, Apple might just sell us the latter (for say $100 a piece) to save on design

 

[I7guy]

OK then, while there is no difference between smartphones and brick stones, Apple might just sell us the latter (for say $100 a piece) to save on design

And that would be okay if people buy it, the stock price keeps going up, revenue keeps going up, etc.
[doublepost=1491308015][/doublepost]

In a competent, talented design team that has accomplished so much over the last decades, there must be soo much frustration over the last 4 years.
These people get energy from changing the world with stunning design, which is essentially where they live for. Look at Marc Newson, an arrived designer. Did he accomplish anything after joining Apple ?
If - for whatever reason - such a colossal company and huge design department launch an abysmal number of new designs a year, there must be something structurally wrong and it is a miracle that people remain there (or it must be the easy money)

My guess: all the pilot designs of the last 4 years got denied or disapproved somewhere along the pipeline, as the milking factions within Apple decide that it is easier to pay off the designers and NOT invest in new innovative direction.
Arrggh, politics in major corporations...

There is just everything wrong with this stream of conciousness vs the way the company is actually performing. Last quarters revenue of $75B should say something that customers like what they see, are buying the products and services. You could not know, given the secrecy, anything about what happens at that level and are just "projecting".
[doublepost=1491308092][/doublepost]

Apple have the most boring design team on the planet. Ive is awful yet gets praise, he needs to grow some balls and stop being a yes man to Cook. iOS looks like it was designed by a child in areas and not a single good product design since the iPhone 5. Fanboys will say otherwise though

Compared to a random internet poster posting hyperbole and nonsense?

 

[Chupa Chupa]

Even if Tim Cook was another mistake (odd as Tim had been running the company as CEO multiple times while Steve was away on medical leave - why didn't Steve spot problems then) are you saying the rest of the team also were? Because they all support Tim.

The times Cook as "acting" it was just that -- acting. Steve was still the de facto final decision maker and Cook didn't have the latitude he now has. So the deficiencies Cook shows now would not be manifest under the "acting" title.

And as for the rest of the team - it's just like any team. You have have an amazing all-start team but if the coach is Big Bird it's not going to be able to come together for a win. That is why coaches and CEOs are important. Jobs had the ability to push the team and also give it the criticism when it needed it. I don't get that Cook is really doing that. He comes off as wanting to be more a a friend to the team than a coach. And that rarely produces championships. Belchick is an ass while Dan Quinn promotes "brotherhood."

 

[thekeyring]

The times Cook as "acting" it was just that -- acting. Steve was still the de facto final decision maker and Cook didn't have the latitude he now has. So the deficiencies Cook shows now would not be manifest under the "acting" title.

And as for the rest of the team - it's just like any team. You have have an amazing all-start team but if the coach is Big Bird it's not going to be able to come together for a win. That is why coaches and CEOs are important. Jobs had the ability to push the team and also give it the criticism when it needed it. I don't get that Cook is really doing that. He comes off as wanting to be more a a friend to the team than a coach. And that rarely produces championships. Belchick is an ass while Dan Quinn promotes "brotherhood."

What are you basing this on? I feel we have a very limited view of what is really happening within Apple.

After all, some people here (I'm sure this wasn't you) said Craig Federighi would make a good CEO - based on his stage presence (and Tim's lack of it)!

 

[Cineplex]

And that would be okay if people buy it, the stock price keeps going up, revenue keeps going up, etc.
[doublepost=1491308015][/doublepost]
There is just everything wrong with this stream of conciousness vs the way the company is actually performing. Last quarters revenue of $75B should say something that customers like what they see, are buying the products and services. You could not know, given the secrecy, anything about what happens at that level and are just "projecting".
[doublepost=1491308092][/doublepost]
Compared to a random internet poster posting hyperbole and nonsense?

Just because idiots are buying the same bad design year after year doesn't guarantee future success. Apple products have become a status symbol and once that fades you are going to wish the were on that guys "stream of consciousness". You know. All you talk about is the money.....Apple used to be about a bit more than that. We should demand they think differently and not conform to stocks and shareholders.

 

[Chupa Chupa]

What are you basing this on? I feel we have a very limited view of what is really happening within Apple.

After all, some people here (I'm sure this wasn't you) said Craig Federighi would make a good CEO - based on his stage presence (and Tim's lack of it)!

Cook's failures are well known starting with prematurely releasing Maps and announcing 27" iMacs that he knew could not be made in quantity and cost Apple sales. These are things Cook himself was forced to make a public mea culpa on. Cook has made so many poor choices but he was blessed with inheriting the iPhone, a cash cow. But even there he shrugged with sales until Samsung made an unforced error. He hyped up the AW and then when it finally went on sale didn't have enough stock to last 1 minute into the pre-ordering. I could go on an on. He's not a good CEO -- he's a lucky one.

And no I did not say Federighi would make a good CEO. I do not thing stage presence is a qualification for being a CEO. That is for an actor. A CEO needs to know how to not just run a business but move it forward and make it tops in its industry. Jobs certainly had stage presence but it was his prescience that made him and Apple so incredible.

 

[I7guy]

Just because idiots are buying the same bad design year after year doesn't guarantee future success. Apple products have become a status symbol and once that fades you are going to wish the were on that guys "stream of consciousness". You know. All you talk about is the money.....Apple used to be about a bit more than that. We should demand they think differently and not conform to stocks and shareholders.

So now Apple customers are idiots? The same customers who bought 75b worth of Apple goods last quarter? What nonsense.

The reason I talk about the money is to counter sweeping negative generalizations (such as this post) that only try to prove by using stereotypes as a basis of fact.

Whatever Apple products are now, the universe has let them become and no amount of hyperbole can change that.

The best way to show Apple you want change is to vote with your wallet, I've done that. Have you?

 

[Cineplex]

So now Apple customers are idiots? The same customers who bought 75b worth of Apple goods last quarter? What nonsense.

The reason I talk about the money is to counter sweeping negative generalizations (such as this post) that only try to prove by using stereotypes as a basis of fact.

Whatever Apple products are now, the universe has let them become and no amount of hyperbole can change that.

The best way to show Apple you want change is to vote with your wallet, I've done that. Have you?

Yes I have. I haven't given them $1 in over a year.

 

[ChrisCW11]

While he doesn't have to justify why he is leaving, to be honest given what has been released by Apple in the last 5 years, I can't blame him.

Shaving a few mm of an old product design, cutting out a rectangle to fit a touch bar, finding creative ways to glue batteries into devices that are already too thin, taking the old ear pod design and sticking a Bluetooth radio and battery on them, the "new" Apple TV being twice as thick and the same looking as a 5 year old product, with a remote that you will always hold the wrong way at first, and then coming out with the tumor battery case and the iPad Pencil that sticks out 90 degrees from the device to charge, these are the "wins" for Apple's industrial design team in the last 5 years.

Someone with the incredible experience from Apple's past can do far better things beyond Apple today.

 

[I7guy]

Yes I have. I haven't given them $1 in over a year.

Did you get rid of your idevices? You dont have to give them any money to keep using your iPhone?

 

[Cineplex]

Did you get rid of your idevices? You dont have to give them any money to keep using your iPhone?

I sold my Mac, my iPad, AppleTV, AirPort, and canceled iCould storage. Unfortunately I am stuck with the iPhone due to a work Application that is iOS only. But once I don't need that....goodbye. Unless Apple changes its ways.

 

[I7guy]

I sold my Mac, my iPad, AppleTV, AirPort, and canceled iCould storage. Unfortunately I am stuck with the iPhone due to a work Application that is iOS only. But once I don't need that....goodbye. Unless Apple changes its ways.

I don't think Apple is going to "change it's ways", but I'm not privy to what happens only guessing based on past behavior.

 

[Cineplex]

I don't think Apple is going to "change it's ways", but I'm not privy to what happens only guessing based on past behavior.

Well based on today's announcements of the Mac Pro....they might be.

 

[I7guy]

Well based on today's announcements of the Mac Pro....they might be.

That's not changing their ways, cook said stuff is in the pipeline all along.

 

[Mactendo]

Hmm I never understand why a new phone has to be "totally new" just to be new? That's just for the bored masses waiting for new entertainment … a device (e.g.phone) is a combination of HW and SW, and the 6 (6s, 7) form factor still works fine. New just to be new isn't relevant, I guess ??? Lorem ipsum.

In theory, if it's a great design and it works and sells then there's no reason to change it, but in practice people like changes and new things, especially when we speak about small things like phones/watches; also almost always there's a place for improvements and not to forget about competition. What was innovative and attractive yesterday may become a common and boring thing tomorrow. And outdated the day after tomorrow. It's also about evolution. You need to be ahead of competitors and even ahead of time to attract customers.

Changes shouldn't be just for the sake of changes, that's how we got iPhone 6 or how many companies update their products, that's a bad thing. But a good developer can always look and think how he can make his product even better. Original iPhone was a nice phone, looks like there was no reason to change anything in regards to design, but iPhone 4 got a new and really great design. Not just beautiful, but also functional. It was smart. It is still classy and relevant today and maybe it would sell well even now. Same with metallic Mac Pro, the last one before the 'trash can' design. It's a really good, well thought of design and it could sell for years.

But speaking of iMacs, there's room for evolution. Look what Microsoft did with its Surface Studio. Same with laptops. And I'm sure same applies to phones, no one just figured out how to evolve it yet.

 

[kdarling]

Not really. And if you do not change and adapt you get left behind.

Oh, Cook's no dummy. I've commented many times that he'll copy anything Samsung does if he thinks he's losing too many sales to them.

However, figuring out later on that he was missing a market, does not make Cook's original claims any less ironic, and it certainly doesn't make him look very insightful.

It's no different than when Ballmer claimed people prefer physical keyboards and then changed to touch keyboards later on when it became apparent he was wrong.

Thankfully Apple knows this and is willing to look forward and not to the past like yourself.

Attempted ad hominem nonsense. Commenting on the past does not make one unable to see the future. In fact, it's past lessons that teach us the most about needing to look forward.

And with Apple, another lesson is to never take seriously what their CEO says disparagingly about a competitor's features.