Design and Concepts and Consuming

I recently finished the annual Fast Company “Design” issue that is published about this time each year. With the ever present Jony Ives gracing the front cover, it was obvious that this issue was going to have something to say about Apple and their philosophy of design. (Spoiler alert — the Apple design process is so secret that the only sources that Fast Company could rely on for the article were people who used to work at Apple and could legally say something about the Apple design process).

What I expected and what I got from these articles were two completely different things.

Photo of USS Carrier at Night

USS Carrier At Night

First, I was amazed when I realized that Apple understands the value of design so well that they even “designed their design”. In other words, what you think of Apple as a company (their brand) and what you think of them as a design entity is precisely researched, engineered, packaged and delivered to you, the consumer.

In the interest of full disclosure, I have to say that as an owner and admirer of Apple products (yes, I own an iPhone and an iMac and I am seriously trying to justify to myself why I should shell out an additional $700.00 for an new iPad) I understand exactly the “thrill experience” and customer loyalty that a well executed design experience can deliver. I define it as that “wow I can’t believe it”, breath-shortening, thrill you get after a transaction or interaction with an organization.

Over the years, I can think of two Apple events that helped me understand how and why good design works. The first event was when I saw Steve Jobs at an Apple product announcement. As he took the stage (dressed in his “brand” of all black), people actually stood and applauded — for a CEO of a company. This was the first, and only time, I have ever seen anyone applaud a CEO. I said to myself,  “People applaud for a musician or for a television personality or for someone who delivers a speech. People don’t applaud for a CEO”.

That event showed me that whatever Apple was doing, it was doing it to the extent that people in the audience were not cheering a product, they were cheering a concept and an image — and the image of Apple that was represented and encapsulated by Steve Jobs. Most CEOs of other companies would give anything for a reaction like that. (Can you imagine the CEO of Bank of America or IBM or any other Fortune 500 company getting applause when they take the stage?)

The second event took place over a longer period of time. Over a number of years (and because dealing with technology is a core part of what I do) my expectations of “computer complexity” was well set. All this came together the day I purchased my iMac. I didn’t buy this product because it was better than any other computer on the market (in fact, I was shopping for a Windows PC at the time) but bought it because it felt good and I had heard from others that Macs were different and cool.

That feeling of “something different” was reinforced when I left the Apple store carrying the big white iMac box and noticed that people were actually staring at me as I treked through the mall to my car. It was reinforced again when I opened the box and set the system up (10 minutes) hooked up a second monitor (that I just knew wasn’t going to work because I didn’t have the right software drivers) and powered it on. The system did some “mystery stuff”, powered on and both monitors worked (boom!).

Fifteen minutes from unboxing to done. I had never had an experience like that – ever – with any of the hundred’s of PCs that I had unpacked and set up over the years.

From these experiences and the design focus of the Fast Company article, I started thinking about companies that I interact with every day — where I buy my morning coffee, airlines, the school where I teach — and realized that good, well executed design, applied to user experience is probably more important than the service itself.

Without good design, the user experience turns into the delayed airline flight that has long lines, unpleasant counter personnel and charges for carry-on luggage (do they expect us to travel with no baggage at all?). On the opposite side, a well designed user experience can turn into the sheer joy and excitement and satisfaction of getting a cup of coffee from my favorite drive-up coffee shop where the genuinely pleasant (not fake) workers take an additional minute or two to chat about your upcoming day.

Now at their core, both an airline trip and  my morning coffee are pretty much the same as other coffee and airline product. What makes these products memorable is that a conscience design effort focused on the user experience has either been applied well (in the case of the coffee shop) or in the case of the airline it has not (or barely) been applied.

As I put these two events together with what I read in Fast Company, the thought crossed my mind of how design can be applied not only to physical products but also to concepts and to companies or organizations that don’t deliver products but deliver services.

So then, does someone who delivers information or delivers cleaning or delivers car repair (non-physical products) design an outstanding user experience that makes you want to stand up and cheer and recommend them to someone else. (Yes! It’s time for me to get my car serviced again!)

I’ll wager that  those who have succeeded in this area  have asked the following questions:

  • What are the things that I remember about my interaction with a company or product? As business owners, can I list what you want your customers to remember about their transaction with me?
  • What parts of the user experience are standing in the way of you or your customers “standing and cheering” when they interact with you?
  • Is what the customer thinks they are going to get (their expectations) and what they actually get very different or are they close to matching. If expectations are out of line with delivery (other than exceeding their expectations) why is that the case?
  • If I am going to make any changes to my product or service, how will it change (improve) the user experience and move my customer more toward “Wow”.

Remember that I am no superhero here. I have no special secret insight into the Apple design process (maybe that’s why Fast Company didn’t call me). But, what I do have (and so do you) is experience as a customer. You have been wowed and disappointed — no doubt many time. You can probably name companies that you will never do business with and those that you will go out of your way to deal with.

It’s these experiences combined with a little thought and work that can help you start to think about design and the part that it plays in your consumer experience.

 

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