Hartmut Esslinger: Everything you know about Steve Jobs and the design

In 1982, when Hartmut Esslinger has been quite a prominent figure in the world of industrial design, its Frog Design Bureau designer had the chance to make a huge contribution to the transformation of the computer office equipment consumer product. It was tendner a contract with Apple.

It was about this period of his work, he wrote in his book Keep it Simple: The Early Design Years of AppleWhich will be released in January 2014. However, the magazine Quartz managed to get the book now and publish review, a translation of which we want to introduce you today.

Esslinger took part in the tender for the contract with Apple. Its folder to the eyeballs stuffed sources of inspiration - from Disney cartoons to innovative TV Sony Trinitron, over design that works Frog - not only allowed him to win the tender, but also tie a strong long-term friendship with Steve Jobs. In his new memoir, Esslinger tell the whole truth about the history of design at Apple, because according to him, almost all in the company and have not learned the lessons learned in those years.

Throughout the book, Esslinger denounces "villains" - especially John Scully who fired Jobs and other Apple executives from the top, and describes their work without stint on the adjectives, which was famous for Jobs (magical, unbelievable, etc.), which can not but bring to mind the extreme egocentricity author.

Quartz magazine got the exclusive right to publish excerpts from the upcoming book:

"I never hide his disgust about all these books written by those who have not worked at Apple, especially when it comes to their design. They exhibit design as a kind of hobby or Steve as a small addition to the production. Even so hyped Jobs biography written by Walter Isaacson, has slipped to such views "

One of the main ideas in the book Esslinger is that Steve Jobs was a genius of design in the beginning, but the design has become a decisive factor in future success of Apple. The road to success, in turn, went through the "corporate civil war", where on opposite sides Jobs barricades appeared with small groups of designers and engineers and all other employees company.

Thus, Jobs submitted edakii Luc Skywalker fighting the evil forces both outside (IBM and yellowish-gray PC) and inside (corporate evil, eventually displacing Jobs of Apple in 1985 year). A Esslinger, in turn, plays the role of Obi-Wan Kenobi.

When Silicon Valley did not know about the design

"When we started working together, Jobs only intuitively felt how design can help Apple, but he and his team stuck in a provincial understanding of design as something than can be prinebrech. It was very common for the engineering culture of Silicon Valley. "

"Steve needed a world-class design. He was still hard to imagine what this means, but saw that Apple - it is not. Frankly, except Bill Mogridzha, who came from London, was not in Silicon Valley or a talented designer "

The origin of friendship Esslinger and Jobs

On the day of the first meeting with Jobs, Esslinger was dressed in a simple T-shirt and jeans. He has already warned that Jobs - one of those who can easily expel a person from his office. Esslinger was very nervous, and his anxiety only intensified when he saw the office of Steve came a man in a three-piece suit.

But, as it turned out, that day was dressed Jobs still easier than Esslinger. When he asked him about a man in a suit, Jobs laughed and said: "This is the former Governor Jerry Brown. Looking for job"

Almost immediately, Esslinger said Jobs, designers unjustly occupy lower level in the corporate hierarchy and that this leads to a reduction in the quality of their work. This point of view has not liked Jobs, but Esslinger insisted:

"I explained to - to make design a key element of corporate strategy of Apple, you need to give designers much more freedom. Often, creativity is buried under layers of ordinary and narrow-minded managers, through which he has to get to see the light "

Their conversation also touched on the areas in which they had a lot in common.

"Steve knew practically nothing about the design, but he liked the German cars. Using this, I tried to convey to him the importance of design - that defines the essence of the product. Without halo long history of high-end design, the Porsche would be a good car, but not much else "

Outsider becomes the main Apple designer

In a short time, Jobs has signed an exclusive one-year contract for $ 1,000,000 with the company Frog, implying that it will work only on the design of Apple computers. But Esslinger insisted that in his care must be all the products and Apple designers.

It was exactly what he was saying even at the first meeting with Jobs. Designers should not just be a wage-workers - they should have more powers. This is the main lesson he gives companies who dreams to achieve the success of Apple - outstanding design requires that the designers were at the head of the process.

"Designers are at the bottom of the" food chain "never achieve success, because all their attempts inevitably collide with misunderstanding superiors, multiple layers parent authorities. All new, revolutionary and surprising - is destroyed and discarded managers with questionable attitude to creativity "

Judging by how often it repeats Esslinger, this is the most important message of the book. A lesson to all imitators Apple, which they emphatically do not want to learn - good design will appear where it is a priority. Firms producing technology, managed by the engineers, and the natural desire of engineers - to destroy the good design.

Future of Apple in her past?

One of the shocking details of the early years of Apple, which we learn in this book, is that thin notebooks, the idea of ​​iPad and iPhone - all this has arisen in the 80's. Phones, tablet computers, laptops - all this model was invented Frog Design, at a time when technology to run them in production, simply did not exist. Then, Jobs left Apple, got some important lessons in the NeXT, Pixar led a small company and returned to Apple as a time when technology caught up with his vision.

If all significant advances Apple were laid during the time of cooperation Esslinger and Jobs, whether Apple is in danger now that instead of creating a new and constantly updates and improves its best creation?

One possible interpretation is written in the Keep it Simple suggests that the recent increase in Johnny Quince - exactly what you need to remain Apple company that sets design at the forefront.

Due to the fact that in the Keep it Simple paid much attention to the contribution of Steve Jobs and his associates in Apple's corporate spirit, the book may become required reading for both business as well as for designers. Again, if you are close in spirit to Steve Jobs and Hartmut Esslinger - to have a good design is to rescue the idea of ​​the hands of "idiots". Esslinger recalls, "idiots" - was one of the favorite words of Jobs.

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Apparently, Esslinger book claims to be the "revelatory" However, the subjectivity of the author is evident. Can this be called a minus? Would you like to read it? Answers to leave comments.

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