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I'm a product designer and love the thesis, but this article is seriously lacking in argument. - Many of the big "UX" benefits would not be possible without ma
by replicatorblog 15y ago
I'm a product designer and love the thesis, but this article is seriously lacking in argument.
- Many of the big "UX" benefits would not be possible without massive changes to entrenched business processes. e.g. Visual voicemail was something that AT&T needed to support. Likewise, unbundling all the "Crapware" is another area where Apple forced the carriers to change their business processes.
Apple had the ability to do this because of their momentum. In 2007, Apple had revolutionized the music industry, was on its way with TV and movies, and clearly someone at AT&T wanted some of that momentum or certainly didn't want Verizon to have it.
If anything, the launch of the first iPhone showed UX alone wasn't enough to dominate the market. The G1 iPhone sold well, but not to the scale it is now. Only after the price got chopped did people move to it en masse. Apple was able to do this by having the world's best operations team and forcing extra-subsidies from the carriers.
Now the UI did get people excited and you can't separate the success of Apple from the strength of their UI, but this article would make you think that the great UX was the primary reason Apple has succeeded.
Design is important, but Dribbble is full of beautiful app designs that sell 10 units a week, where as you will find many horribly designed, modern sites, that are dominating new markets.
- ootachi 15y agoHorribly designed sites can dominate old markets too. Amazon is the perfect example of why design doesn't matter. Likewise Craigslist and eBay... the list goes on and on. It's all about marketing and luck.
- gravitronic 15y agoI read on HN once that for products that there's an inverse relationship in play here. The more you need a product the less it's design matters. The less you need a product the more it's design matters. This is why de-facto standard utilities like Amazon, Craigslist, eBay do not need to be "beautiful"
- monsterix 15y agoYeah, it totally depends where your business hits on the Maslows' Hierarchy of Needs. If what your business provides is a basic need of somebody, a terrible UI/UX wouldn't stop the guy to use your website and get his job done. For example, look at many of the University websites.
- InclinedPlane 15y agoThat only applies when there is no competition. Look at cars and firearms, for example. Pretty crucial items when they are needed but design is still at the forefront when it comes to making a choice.
- snkahn 15y agoworth noting that 'beautiful' != easy to use. Those companies all pay careful attention to the usability of their products.