Apple: Should Design Trump User Experience?
This may be old news to some of you, and monumental to others - like myself. Okay, monumental is a bit dramatic, but I learned something the other day about one of my favorite brands that raised some big questions in terms of brand attribute priority, so I had to share it with you and ask for your thoughts.
I’ve had a brand crush on Apple for some time now, every since I was mesmerized by the iPod Shuffle as a youngster. And when I started studying brands professionally seven years ago, Apple was one I wrote about often with glowing remarks.
But nobody is perfect, and every month or so my admiration turns to frustration when I have to charge my Apple Mouse. On one such occasion I was venting to my husband asking “how could the most design-forward brand create such a frustrating experience and put the charging port on the underside of the mouse so I can’t use it while I’m charging it?” After reminding me that I could simply charge it while I take our dog Otis for a walk or on my lunch break (valid, but beside the point), he went on to explain that this design was intentional. By making the Apple Mouse unusable while charging, they ensure that their “wireless mouse” remains wireless. After considering this for a moment, I realized he was right. Apple anticipated their users leaving their mouse plugged in even when they don’t need to charge it (as I often do with my “wireless” Apple Keyboard…).
With athletics being such a cornerstone of the Apple brand, this all started to make sense to me. Even searching for free stock images for this blog post proves my point; dozens of overly-staged yet beautiful images of an Apple computer with a classy cord-free Apple Mouse.
I completely understand and respect Apple’s commitment to design and to maintaining their reputation of owning the words “beautifully designed tech” in the minds of their audience. However, in my philosophy of brand, user experience is king. If great brand exist to enrich their customers’ lives - and Apple is indeed a great brand which has enriched my life - then this feels like a self-focused move. Your brand should be about your customers, not about you. Indeed your brand lives in the minds and hearts of your audience. Your reputation is built upon their experience much more than it is built by photography. And frustration is a costly adjective to play with when designing user experiences.
Apple stands for both design and user experience. Beautiful and easy to use. So what do you do when you have two brand attributes that contradict? My gut says to prioritize your audience. If they want a beautiful wireless mouse, they’ll remember to unplug it when it’s done charging.
What do you think?
