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Why Design Matters

Steve Jobs’s secret weapon at Apple Computers is “industrial design,” the cure for a product that becomes a commodity, like the personal computer. Design provides a unique customer experience. Apple’s “design-driven” corporate culture works to elicit positive emotional responses from customers. Apple insiders believe design encompasses far more than just the physical look of their products.

This broad view helped Apple sidestep the pitfall Motorola fell into with its sleek, thin Razr phone. At first, the Razr resonated with consumers. However, instead of letting the phone’s success influence the company’s vision, Motorola tried to milk it with imitators and empty promises. One successful product cannot ensure a company’s continued health, unless that company embraces the concept of design in every aspect of its organization. Motorola, inventor of the mobile phone, became insignificant in that market because it failed to develop a design culture.

Great products that engage consumers’ emotions are usually born of a design vision that shapes their appearance, feel and operation. This vision must extend to marketing and branding, and even timing...