Hartmut Esslinger disappointed in the actions of Apple
Makradar Technologies / / December 19, 2019
«Apple is no longer an innovative company", — He speaks the man who helped Steve Jobs with the design of the Mac. And it was not convinced by the opposite of any iOS 7 or the new iPhone.
Hartmut Esslinger (Hartmut Esslinger) something that the meaning of the industrial design. He did a lot for Apple. He has worked directly with Steve Jobs to create a "design language" that has been used in the line of Macintosh computers for more than ten years. And before Esslinger in 1982 signed an exclusive contract with Apple to $ 1 million a year, his company has developed more than 100 products for Sony. He is with whom to compare.
In an interview with Quartz Esslinger said that the current Apple Sony recalls the 1980s, when the change of leadership took place, and stood at the helm of those who put profit above the rest. "Steve Jobs was a man who did not care no rational arguments in favor of the fact that something can not be done... He stubbornly insisted to try something new."
The reason that Esslinger ready to share memories of the past with Jobs that on October 9 Frankfurt Book Fair, he will present his book, a memoir about the design and management, which is called "Keep it simple» ( «Keep it Simple »).
According to Esslinger, when he began working with Jobs in 1982, Apple was fastidious company in which many were hostile to the founder (in 1985 Jobs was forced out, he returned in 1996 year). When Jobs started to work with Esslinger, Steve knew that design can help highlight the Apple brand is better than any marketing.
Back in 1982, Jobs thought of "computer in the form of a book", although the project was not discussed outside the company. "This vision eventually led to the Apple Newton, a failed tablet - and then to the iPhone and iPad, which went down in history." According to Esslinger, currently there is no such vision at Apple. The company reached the peak of innovation 7-8 years ago.
Esslinger in 2006 left the Frog design (founded by him in 1969), and currently teaches at around the world, mostly in China, and he said that his students are mostly keen on three-dimensional interfaces. They inspire a video game. China thinks radically. "The Chinese now occurs a paradigm shift when they realize that they need to innovate, and not enough to make cheap products. The first generation of entrepreneurs just wanted to make money, but now they have, for example, a a guy like Richard Yu, head of Huawei, which is not ashamed to declare publicly: "I want to defeat Apple and Samsung ».
Esslinger also believes that it is less important in the process of human-computer interaction in the future will be redefining the integration of hardware and software. As an example, he cites the design concept Frog, created with MIT - flexible computers that respond to compression and other types of non-traditional touch input.
As for the age of people who create great things, Esslinger said that the best ideas in the Frog companies come to mind most young designers, recent high school graduates. In particular, this is due to willingness to face failure - which, incidentally, is characteristic of American culture. "In Europe, you learn not to make mistakes, but in America you make a mistake, to learn."
Wherever have new, fresh ideas - they are likely to belong to entrepreneurs and The designer, who thought different from current thinking in Silicon Valley, where not enough youth. By the way, Steve Jobs was 28, when he began to work with Esslinger.
It turns out that the main causes of "stagnation" and the lack of innovation Esslinger believes the pursuit of profit and the absence of "young brains". What do you think maybe he's something right?