

Apple: The organizational Rorschach - revorad
http://37signals.com/svn/posts/3536-apple-the-organizational-rorschach

======
robotmay
I don't really understand what this article is saying or if there's any point
to it. It reads like a lot of overly grandiose back-patting with very little
substance.

How is the iOS7 redesign different to that of Android and Windows Phone
redesigns? Is it just so awe-inspiring and amazing because Apple did it?

I thought people were starting to get past having a verbal orgasm every time
Apple did anything and were instead ready to treat them like any other
company. I guess we're not quite there yet.

~~~
rimantas

      > How is the iOS7 redesign different to that of Android
      > and Windows Phone redesigns?
    

Which specific redesigns are you talking about? As for iOS 7 redesign, it is
interesting, because it goes deep. Apple changes the way it thinks (and iOS
devs should think) about the UI and the application contents. Content now
receives the most prominent position and UI chrome goes into background. Apple
also promotes the "depth" (anyone calling iOS redesign "flat" has no idea that
they is talking about and is not worth listening). With the concept of depth
interaction and navigation patterns will also change. Make no mistake, this
redesign is not superficial and it will bring a lot of interesting things in
the future.

~~~
robotmay
Well the Windows Phone redesign (Windows Phone 7 & 8) was equally significant,
if not more so, as a design direction change for Microsoft. And there are
certainly similarities between WP7/8 and iOS7.

Android perhaps less significant as that has been a set of gradual changes,
but the actual design language in the latest version of Android is starkly
different to the first release.

~~~
rimantas
The new look of Microsoft mobile OS (whatever they do call that UI now)
received a lot of attention too.

~~~
robotmay
Oh no doubt, it just didn't generate anywhere near the same amount of very
vocal crymaxing.

------
outside1234
How apple did it: They copied what Microsoft had done, exactly like Samsung
copied them, and Apple previously copied (poorly) what Google had done with
Maps.

I say this not in spite but in awe of what Apple is really good at. They are
good at copying things but then doing such an amazing job of presenting their
copy that you, the elite of the industry, think that they invented it.

They've been doing this since they copied the Xerox interface and I've always
been in awe of it.

~~~
dbecker
I don't see the great similarities between iOS 7 and any microsoft interfaces.
Can you say more about which product they "copied" and what design features
specifically make you think that?

~~~
revorad
You must be joking - [http://chris.millr.org/ios-7-looks-familiar-cant-quite-
put-m...](http://chris.millr.org/ios-7-looks-familiar-cant-quite-put-my-
finger-on-it/)

~~~
joeblossom
To build on gtcameron:

The call comparison is bad -- the first one is when the phone is "unlocked"
and the "new" one is when the phone is in a locked state. Also, the previous
version would show a picture if you had a picture associated to the contact.

And, if anything, with weather, and in general iOS was the first mobile OS
which allowed you to horizontally scroll through screens -- I feel that that
is the bigger "design" element stolen than a particular font/color choice.

Let's not forget about the pinch to zoom, etc.

Lesson here? Everyone borrows from each other. But I don't think the examples
here are that damning. I think iOS borrowed much more from android than
WP7/8\. (Look at the modal dialogs -- other than rounded corners, they're
nearly identical to Android's)

AND Chris Miller got his dates wrong -- the multitasking in windows phone and
iOS was stolen from WebOS -- which came out in 2009. Not 2011.

------
squidi
Prof Bob Sutton at Stanford made a similar point about Steve Jobs last year:
[http://bobsutton.typepad.com/my_weblog/2012/07/wired-
story-w...](http://bobsutton.typepad.com/my_weblog/2012/07/wired-story-wraps-
with-my-argument-that-steve-jobs-is-like-a-rorschach-test.html)

~~~
bsaul
That's one of the most interesting idea i've read about apple and steve jobs
in a long time. I wonder if any management consultant start brainstorms with
"why do you think Apple made it to the top ?".

Plus, with the strong duality between Apple public image (the cool, artistic
oriented company) and steve jobs internal (supposed) behavior, that gives
plenty of room for people to project their own frustrations :)))

------
MatthewPhillips
> Whether you happened to like the final product

And then the rest of the post assumes you like the final product.

------
bane
Instead of saying it again, I'll just link to my original comment
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5869340](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5869340)

------
palringo
If you want to see a really bold redesign, look at the transition from Windows
Mobile to Windows Phone.

[http://www.theverge.com/2013/6/8/4408756/microsoft-metro-
des...](http://www.theverge.com/2013/6/8/4408756/microsoft-metro-design-
concepts-windows-mobile-windows-phone)

The Apple homescreen still looks like this from more than 20 years ago, but
now with garish and fluorescent colored icons.

[http://common.ziffdavisinternet.com/encyclopedia_images/_PRG...](http://common.ziffdavisinternet.com/encyclopedia_images/_PRGMGR.GIF)

>marveling at the vision, drive, and sheer determination to pull it off.

I think this statement and the whole article better applied to WP7 rather than
iOS7.

I think there is some major RDF at play here.

[http://disinfo.com/2011/06/apple-products-trigger-the-
same-p...](http://disinfo.com/2011/06/apple-products-trigger-the-same-parts-
of-the-brain-as-religion/)

[http://news.cnet.com/8301-17852_3-20064577-71.html](http://news.cnet.com/8301-17852_3-20064577-71.html)

~~~
marknutter
Agreed. Metro is not a step I had expected MS to take. The first few
iterations in that video were more along the lines of what I had expected from
MS. You could probably argue that they took "flat design" too far, but you
can't accuse them of not taking any bold risks.

