{"id":34389,"date":"2021-12-10T14:36:36","date_gmt":"2021-12-10T19:36:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mjtsai.com\/blog\/?p=34389"},"modified":"2021-12-10T16:24:12","modified_gmt":"2021-12-10T21:24:12","slug":"inside-apples-design-team","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mjtsai.com\/blog\/2021\/12\/10\/inside-apples-design-team\/","title":{"rendered":"Inside Apple’s Design Team"},"content":{"rendered":"

Jonathan Bell<\/a> (Hacker News<\/a>):<\/p>\n

Ive was intensely involved with the building’s design (as was Steve Jobs during the project’s early stages). The team before us now very much reflect the realisation of the two men’s aspirations for a bespoke Apple building. ‘[The Apple Design Team] can share the same studio,’ Ive told Wallpaper in 2017. ‘We can have industrial designers sat next to a font designer, sat next to a sound designer, who is sat next to a motion graphics expert, who is sat next to a colour designer, who is sat next to somebody who is developing objects in soft materials.’<\/p>\n

[…]<\/p>\n

While new category killers such as Apple Watch and AirPods might appear effortless and fully formed from the outset, the work behind the scenes was staggering. Take the Human Factors Team, which blends experts in ergonomics, cognition and behavioural psychology. When AirPods’ development began a decade or so ago, human factors researcher Kristi Bauerly found herself researching the ‘crazily complex’ human ear.<\/p>\n

[…]<\/p>\n

Yet even something as superficially simple but environmentally beneficial as removing the plastic shrink-wrap from an iPhone box induces a paroxysm of self-examination within the team. How can the unboxing experience be maintained? Can it be made more accessible? The problem was mulled over, pulled apart and ultimately solved with an elegant paper tab mechanism. The change will save around 600 metric tonnes of plastic over the life of the product.<\/p>\n

[…]<\/p>\n

Accessibility and inclusiveness are vital components of the Design Team’s work.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The Accessibility options in Settings and System Preferences are increasingly vital to making their work usable.<\/p>\n\n

Via Dave Mark<\/a>:<\/p>\n

\n

If nothing else, follow the headline link and scan through the photos.<\/p>\n

That first one shows a breathtaking view from the fourth floor inside Apple Park. The third shows Evans Hankey, VP of industrial design, and Alan Dye, VP of human interface design, in the Design Studio. Scroll down a bit more and you’ll see a model maker assembling camera modules for iPhone 13 Pro camera lenses into cosmetic models.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n

David Sparks<\/a>:<\/p>\n

I can’t help but think that every picture looks arranged and posed. This is not the design team ‘at work’. They are instead posing for a magazine shoot.<\/p>

[…]<\/p>

I wish that in addition to rooms dedicated to typography and color science, they also showed an even bigger room dedicated to user interface design. In my opinion, Apple’s hardware is untouchable at this moment, but some of the software mechanics and user interfaces need work. I wish I saw signs they were working more on that.<\/p>

[…]<\/p>

That said, relying on something Steve Jobs said years ago to justify your work is the wrong way to go about it. During Alan Dye’s tenure as VP of human interface design, Apple has become very opinionated and, arguably, too minimal. Removal of proxy icons is just one example of this. It feels<\/em> like the veneer is getting way too much attention at the expense of the working bits.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n

Previously:<\/p>\n