Apple Sets the Design Standard

The best companies making the best products still want to mimic the iPod, and they're learning that's more about substance than style

by Jessie Scanlon

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It's the question every designer has heard too many times to count: "Can you make me the iPod of (insert product name here)?"

And it's not just makers of consumer electronics who ask. "I've been asked to make the iPod of boiler parts," says Paul Bennett, creative director of Ideo.

"Apple is definitely setting the standard for product design today," says John Edson, president of Lunar Design. "We're being asked to create wonderful products, you know, like the iPod. It's still rare, though, that an organization has the force of will to make a product like this happen."

Apple (AAPL) has long been noted for its design prowess, scooping awards and generating buzz with each new product unveiling. Still, not long ago executives at other companies would glance at Apple's sliver share of the PC market and get back to the business of producing widgets better, faster, and more cheaply. The Apple lesson seemed to be: A few people will pay a premium for good design, but it's not a smart business strategy.

Now that Apple's share in PCs is increasing—helped along by the unprecedented success of its music player—business leaders across industries are taking note. After all, you can't argue with 90 million units.

Choosing Your Lessons

Apple's new position as a successful business-case study has had a ripple effect in the world of design, from product and service design to development and branding strategy. Unfortunately, not all companies are taking away the right lessons.

Some have simply tried to channel Apple's minimalist aesthetic, churning out shiny, white products without grasping anything deeper than the iPod's plastic skin. When PC makers E-Machines, Daewoo, and Future Power each began selling computers uncannily similar to the original iMac, Apple sued. More recently, myriad products seem to have been "inspired," by the iPod.

Take the Sonos Digital Music System, with its muted color, minimalist lines, slightly rounded corners, and scroll wheel. "It's a literal copy of the iPod visual language," says Lunar's Edson.

Last year, Apple sued the Korean company iOPS for copying the design of the iPod. And countless other manufacturers—many in Asia—have introduced similar players. Not only do these imitators sometimes end up in court but it's not a strategy likely to generate revenues. Apple's success doesn't stem from the style alone.

The King's Court

Other companies, seeing the size and financial strength of Apple's markets, have sought to ride on Apple's coattails by creating products that populate the iPod's now $1 billion ecosystem. "Call them the synergists," says Dave Laituri, director of product development at Brookstone. "These companies create original products that represent their brands but also acknowledge Apple's design influence and status."

Brookstone falls into this category, as do Belkin, JBL, and Bose. For these companies, strong iPod sales can bring a nice boost to short-term revenues.

Of the many companies that have tried to emulate Apple's success, few have succeeded. That said, some companies seem to have grasped the deeper lessons to be learned—that design can't happen in a silo, that designers should have a voice at the corporate level—and are trying to implement them.

"Certainly its success has drawn attention to the power of design," says Edson. "I suspect that the success of the iPod helped liberate the management team at Motorola (MOT) in their new emphasis on appearance and design manifest in the RAZR."