Original Apple 'i-Brand' Creator Says Naming Convention 'on its Last Legs'

[MacRumors]

Last week, The Guardian published a negative-sounding article by Ken Segall with the title "How Apple lost its way: Steve Jobs' love of simplicity is gone".

Ken Segall worked with Steve Jobs as his ad agency creative director for 12 years. In that time he led the team behind Apple's famous 'Think Different' campaign, and helped Apple create its 'i-brand' with the naming of the iMac, therefore Segall's overall evaluation of how the company has evolved since Jobs' death is likely to be a point of interest to many.

Interestingly however, yesterday Segall criticized The Guardian for its choice of headline, which he says misrepresents his views and the subject matter of the article. Segall has now published the complete article on his own website with the original title, "Has Apple lost its simplicity?", which he says is a question, not a conclusion, followed by thoughtful opinion.

Segall notes in the article that Apple's product naming used to be extremely simple - computers were Macs and consumer products were i-devices. But now "the consumer products are offered as i-things and Apple-things (Apple Watch, Apple Pay, Apple Music)," writes Segall, who claims that "the i is obviously on its last legs, and a transition like this doesn't happen overnight".

The article also covers a number of other topics related to the idea of simplicity, including the differences between Steve Jobs and current CEO Tim Cook, who "certainly knows how to make Apple run efficiently" but recognizes he "doesn't have Steve's many talents" and relies on the expertise of others in areas of product design and marketing.

Segall also compares simplicity versus complexity in Apple product lines, the challenge of finding simplicity in software (he calls Apple Music "bewildering" to use), the evolution of Apple's marketing group (which has "changed dramatically" since Jobs' leadership), and how he thinks the company currently fares in these areas.

Segall is the author of the books Insanely Simple: The Obsession That Drives Apple's Success and Think Simple: How Smart Leaders Defeat Complexity.

Article Link: Original Apple 'i-Brand' Creator Says Naming Convention 'on its Last Legs'

 

[japanime]

iThink he's correct.

 

[maflynn]

I'm wondering that very well, increasingly complex product line up, User Interfaces that are no longer as intuitive as they used to be.

Interesting read, but by the same token, Apple is evolving and sometimes that evolution is different then what some people want.

 

[usamaah]

I'm using Google Music so I honestly don't know. Is Apple Music noticeably hard to learn how to use?

 

[Crosscreek]

Tim is definitely not Jobs when it comes to product design. He's a bean counter with out vision. 5400 HDD lol Watch Bands? Outdated computers..........

 

[anubis72]

I want to see the i-naming convention die a horrible fiery death so hard.

 

[maflynn]

I want to see the i-naming convention die a horrible fiery death so hard.

Its going away, but it would be foolish for Apple to abandon the name iPhone, given its brand recognition.

Additionally, I like how Segall pointed out that the S version of the iPhone was under Steve's watch. I think they should have simplified that scheme years ago

 

[davester]

I'm actually amazed how long the i-thing lasted

 

[Borin]

I'm using Google Music so I honestly don't know. Is Apple Music noticeably hard to learn how to use?

No. People simply don't want to.

 

[Dilster3k]

Yes, YES! Preach. Amen!

 

[oneMadRssn]

current CEO Tim Cook, who "certainly knows how to make Apple run efficiently"

I dispute that Apple is being run efficiently. Compared to 5-7 years ago, Apple has grown in size dramatically, hired a lot more engineers and other staff in pretty much every department. Yet Apple's output in terms of quality products seems to be about the same or less, and Apple's output in terms of services is larger, but not necessarily better. What are all these engineers doing? You know that expression that COE types always say, do more with less? Well, it seems Apple is doing meh with more. The output per engineer is much lower than it was.

 

[Zirel]

The "i" products were the products that were made for the Internet, and could only be "possible" to succeed with the Internet.

Would iTunes make sense without the Internet?

The iPhone wouldn't also make sense, because it's main feature was the browser, the iPod didn't had Internet, but was designed around the Internet, which popularized MP3s, etc.

Nowadays, products designed with the Internet in mind, and even products that require Internet access are so obvious, that doesn't make sense to put the "i" anymore.

Tim is definitely not Jobs when it comes to product design. He's a bean counter with out vision. 5400 HDD lol Watch Bands? Outdated computers..........

Good day for you too.
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I dispute (...) What are all these engineers doing? (...)

An electric car.

 

[Andres Cantu]

Maybe for future products, but the iPhone name isn't going anywhere.

 

[Brad9893]

I'm wondering that very well, increasingly complex product line up, User Interfaces that are no longer as intuitive as they used to be.

Interesting read, but by the same token, Apple is evolving and sometimes that evolution is different then what some people want.

I agree with your last line. A lot of the increasing complexity results from the proliferation of different screen sizes among iOS devices. Back in Steve's day, iPhone's and iPad's came in just one screen size which made things much simpler. However, since that time, consumers have demanded choice when it comes to display size, so Apple simple had to adapt. It's the same for the iPad, really. I think the same thing would have happened if Jobs were still alive.

Simplicity is great, but there is such a thing as too simple. I do wish they would remove clearly old, outdated products though (like the 2012 cMBP that they are still selling).

They are also getting into more markets which makes things more complicated, but hey, companies have to diversify.

 

[lem150]

So many negative and hostile comments! I like the "i" naming convention. I also like that they have moved away from it for some products like the Apple Watch.

 

[J InTech82]

I do think Apple need to simplfly their product lineup again. There should be a "good, better, best" and not keep around the last two generation of products just because you're trying to sell something for $50 cheaper to entice people. I'm sure there's more to it than that but yeah.

 

[maflynn]

I like the "i" naming convention.

The i naming convention has run its course, and it was over used. It was originally done to indicate internet, as Apple wanted to communicate that their new All in One computer was the best device for the internet back when the internet was new. Since then everything was getting the i designation.

 

[Michaelgtrusa]

Keep the i for some products.

 

[Aldaris]

Certain things like the iPhone, iPad, and iMac, will likely remain, like many have stated due to established brand recognition. For any new product, your looking at the Apple'X' be it tv, watch, or car.

 

[Iconoclysm]

Tim is definitely not Jobs when it comes to product design. He's a bean counter with out vision. 5400 HDD lol Watch Bands? Outdated computers..........

This moaning over 5400 RPM HDD's confuses me. You're aware of the speed of an HDD but are you also aware of its cache and how multi-platter drives access data more efficiently? I have a 4 cylinder 7 passenger SUV that does zero to 60 in 5.4 seconds, there's just a lot more to it.

 

[2499723]

*sigh* Yeah, get rid of "iPhone" and replace it with "Apple Phone Quadra 900"
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This moaning over 5400 RPM HDD's confuses me. You're aware of the speed of an HDD but are you also aware of its cache and how multi-platter drives access data more efficiently? I have a 4 cylinder 7 passenger SUV that does zero to 60 in 5.4 seconds, there's just a lot more to it.

Have you tried to boot up a Mac with a 5400RPM drive recently? Or launched an app? It's painful.

I had to add an SSD to a colleague's 2011 iMac last week, because apps like Adobe Premiere were unusable. (That was after using DiskWarrior and Drive Genius 4, etc.)

 

[Santabean2000]

This moaning over 5400 RPM HDD's confuses me. You're aware of the speed of an HDD but are you also aware of its cache and how multi-platter drives access data more efficiently? I have a 4 cylinder 7 passenger SUV that does zero to 60 in 5.4 seconds, there's just a lot more to it.

Confuses you? HDDs are slooooooow. It really is that simple. New ones are faster than old ones, but in comparison to other options now available, no cache or multi-platter can compete.

There's no justification for Apple running bare boned HDDs in any Mac in 2016.

 

[PinkyMacGodess]

I dispute that Apple is being run efficiently. Compared to 5-7 years ago, Apple has grown in size dramatically, hired a lot more engineers and other staff in pretty much every department. Yet Apple's output in terms of quality products seems to be about the same or less, and Apple's output in terms of services is larger, but not necessarily better. What are all these engineers doing? You know that expression that COE types always say, do more with less? Well, it seems Apple is doing meh with more. The output per engineer is much lower than it was.

I have to agree. The constant outages, the complexity, the bugginess. The tone deaf responses to complaints...

 

[LordQ]

Wouldn't be surprised if next year's iPhone is changed to Apple Phone.

 

[PinkyMacGodess]

Confuses you? HDDs are slooooooow. It really is that simple. Faster than old HDDS, but in comparison to other options now available, no cache or multi-platter can compete.

There's no justification for Apple running bare boned HDDs in any Mac in 2016.

I think that they do it because of the notorious heat issues inside Apple devices.

Fans are evil was Jobs' mantra. I understand it, but dammit, there are reasons for having fans! Like HEAT!!! The MacBook Pro used to scorch the creases out of people's pants! The Time Machines get really HOT!

Slower drives probably help with some of the heat issues. Not a solution...