25.08.2011
Steve Jobs resigns, but we can all learn from Apple
For such large corporations, the world’s major technology companies are often almost faceless. Microsoft has Bill Gates, but arguably even he isn’t as synonymous with his company, as Steve Jobs with Apple. Steve's resignation of CEO is revealed today following treatment for pancreatic cancer.
Jobs was one of the founders of Apple in the 1970s and drove its initial success with a range of innovative products. It was Apple that popularised and refined the computer mouse during its initial period of success during the 1980s. In 1985 he left the company after a fall out with colleagues but returned to the then ailing company in 1997. What was to follow was an unprecedented 14 year programme of growth and innovation that led to the development of some of the most jaw-droppingly successful technology products of all time. Apple became the largest company in the USA earlier this year, prompting reports that it was now richer than the US government.
The success of Apple under Jobs was founded on the design of products. Keeping a clear focus on design, Apple has managed to achieve something that is beyond all of its competitors – becoming a global mega corporation whilst still remaining ‘cool’. The company has achieved this with generation after generation of products that engaged customers at a visceral level. Starting with the Jonathan Ive designed iMac its products touched people in a way that the likes of Microsoft could only dream. It is hard to imagine any other company attracting the same media attention, near hysteria and queues that greeted the launch of iPad2 in March of this year. One punter in London reportedly started queuing 33 hours ahead of the launch!
There is already talk of his legacy, but that is inevitably a tough one to call in the world of technology where one unsuccessful product launch can send a company into a rapid downward spiral. Maybe one part of his legacy will be something more general; the idea that many aspects of our lives are defined by the intersection between design and technology, at the point where the human interfaces with the product.
This is one of the underlying principles that we at DAS try to follow. We understand that the products we design and manufacture form one of the key interfaces between the organisation, the working environment, people and the technology they use. Only by approaching the design of this interface in an innovative and intelligent way can we help our customers to meet their needs for a productive, adaptable, attractive and environmentally friendly workplace.