Can Apple's 'Genius Design' Model Be Duplicated?

Design strategist Nathan Shedroff describes Apple's business model as an exceptional combination of strategy and leadership. While this "genius design" model has worked for Apple, Shedroff says it probably can't be duplicated without Steve Jobs behind the wheel.

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Design and business have traditionally made uneasy bedfellows, with practitioners of each eyeing each other suspiciously. But in recent years, some companies have demonstrated huge success by adopting a design-savvy approach. That's led to a resurgence of interest in design as business strategy. There remains little agreement on the best policies, structures, or principles for its smart adoption and execution, however.

This panel, a continuation of swissnex San Francisco's series on innovation, brings together those working on every side of the equation, from individuals implementing design within large corporations, to consultants aiming to bring an objective eye to their clients' problems, to educators working to shape the future discussion.

With moderator Helen Walters, editor of innovation and design at Bloomberg/BusinessWeek; Helmut Traitler, V.P. of Innovation Partnerships at NESTEC Ltd., in Vevey, Switzerland; Udaya Patnaik, Jump founder and principal; Nathan Shedroff, chair of the MBA in Design Strategy at California College of the Arts; and Mary Jo Cook, Vice President of Discovery and Design for Clorox. - Swissnex San Francisco

Nathan Shedroff has been an information and interface designer for over twelve years. He focuses on developing online experiences, building online brand strategies and business models, and developing online communities.

Throughout his career, he has worked in various media and authored several books on multimedia, computers, and information. His electronic experience spans CD-ROMs, kiosks, published titles, application development, and online experiences.

He co-founded vivid studios, a decade-old pioneering company in interactive media. Prior to that, he worked with Richard Saul Wurman as a senior designer at TheUnderstandingBusiness. He earned a BS in Industrial Design, with an emphasis in Automobile Design, from Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California.

[merdufer]

I think the key is to keep inventing small user-friendly things (a cool little wheel control on your mp3 player, a screen that rotates when you rotate your phone) and make them sound like a big revolution.

Sure, you'll end up with lots of terrible ideas as well (a mouse with only one button?), but these little things never kill your product as a whole. As long as you stay alive and keep improving, people will remember you for the good stuff.

[ddd]

I think it's more correct to say that Apple duplicated "Genius Design" model...
What most people don't know is that Jonathan Ive, the man responsible for designing most of the Apple products since the late 90's, is a confessed follower of one of the most important designers of the 20th century. That man is Dieter Rams who was chief of design at Braun since the 60's.

[THESocialJusticeWarrior]

I disagree with the speaker. Apple is just focusing on what is fashionable and sometimes creating the fashion just like car companies do.

[ZamatoElite]

Most Apple products are amazing: Macbook Pro Series, Macbook Series, iPhone, Mac OSX, iPod, Final Cut Studio & Express, iMovie '09, iTunes, and soon the iPad.

Apple has had some flukes though: Apple TV, Mac Pro (bc of GPU), Macbook Air, Mac Mini, iWork, and every Apple branded mouse ever made.

[ddd]

The ten principles to approach to good design, defined by Dieter Rams, are the design philosophy used by Apple to create its products.
I would not call it "Genius Design", but "Honest Design".

[mauriciohavok]

NeXT computer was the base of OS X maybe it was a commercial failure, but it brought a lot of technology

[PlateauEast]

well let's see. every version of the imac comes to mind. the newton, which didn't work that well but set the table for all later handheld tech. uh.. OSX with it's absolute superiority to any other OS. itunes as one of the most ingenious programs written in a generation and with the store included makes it completely dominant. the iphone and it's touch screen tech. it is the standard for all future mobiles hitting the market. macbook air... pretty cool and amazingly slim. is that enough?

[anikinippon]

@LordNapalm Even then, you drop an I phone on it's face, the glass is shattered and then you have to replace it. I bought a phone brand new for $20 and I've dropped it so many times but it always works fine.

[PlateauEast]

well if you really think that then you're not paying attention

[WarRogers]

What the hell is 'genius design?'

[PlateauEast]

ok. look at every version of the imac. and i mean every one. massively different and influential. look at the iphone... the model for all mobiles from now until who knows when. you can go as far back as the newton, if you want. the thing didn't work that well but it lead to a lot of portable technology with that look. look at their operating system since the release of OSX. Look at itunes, one of the best and most ingenious pieces of software written in our generation

[PlateauEast]

you'd think he'd wear a nicer shirt when pontificating on design and issues relating...

[marsCubed]

Introduce Art and design into the science and engineering curriculum, watch the innovation spring from the colleges.
Japan did this, They realized that education is next to useless unless it is broad.
Feeding industry with very sophisticated button pushers is not very useful.
Much better to have imaginative social and innovative ppl.

It has to be a holistic approach which engages people with dignity as part of a social project.
PPL work for free if it is fun and makes a difference even.

[Anticleric]

@PlateauEast The macbook Air is one of the worse computers ever made. I owned one which my office bought to show off at meetings with clients. The problem was that we couldn't get any of out presentations onto it because it had no inputs (bad design). Needless to say, it was returned about a month later.

[Anticleric]

@PlateauEast
You've clearly only owned Apple products for your entire life. Take a look at a company like alienware to compare to your imac. I already conceded the iPhone. As far operating systems I strongly disagree. Without Unix we wouldn't be having this conversation. Check somewhere like the international space station and find me a copy of OSX. And Itunes is definitely NOT well designed (but you only have a mac so you wouldn't know any better).

[ananiasacts]

@LordNapalm, I can't wait for their washer/dryer.