8 Things UX/UI Designers Can Learn From Steve Jobs
“Think different” was only one of the principles Steve Jobs followed. A character that has left a tremendous legacy, not only as a design innovator.
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Apple products are a great example of perfection through simplification. Throughout the years of their evolution and refinement, Apple devices have always been minimalistic, there was no button without a specific and crucial role. Steve Jobs is said to have had strong attention to detail, and to have always put aesthetics at the heart of a product, including the tiniest chip on a hidden circuit board. While his approach can easily be applied to the field of product design, his principles are similarly a vital inspiration for engineers up to those engaged in UX/UI design.
1. Simplicity is key
Steve Jobs was a dedicated supporter of the simplicity of things. This successful vision is reflected in essentially all Apple products. The operating systems used on Apple devices have always been known as incredibly intuitive, simple and straightforward. It’s a design lesson that web designers can learn from as well: The visitor of a website needs to understand the logic of the page at a glance and know exactly what to do next. The user interface benefits from a minimalistic design as it naturally creates hierarchy and balance. Simple but clear navigation elements and graphics that support the logic of a page, combined with a settled amount of negative space, build the basis of a clear page.
“That’s been one of my mantras — focus and simplicity. Simple can be harder than complex: You have to work hard to get your thinking clean to make it simple. But it’s worth it in the end because once you get there, you can move mountains.” — Steve Jobs
2. Think outside the box
A good website follows all the basic guidelines, design rules and typography standards. A great website breaks the grid. It is unique and distinctive in its own way. And that’s what makes it memorable. Break the rules, be creative and think different. Jobs’ design aesthetic, for example, was strongly influenced by the philosophies of Zen and Buddhism. Enriching his life with cultural influences was an essential element in Jobs’ passion for design to flourish and to be innovative:
“The best way to be creative is to surround yourself with culture, art, and history. Serendipity and connecting the dots may be more important than we think. Creativity is just connecting things.“ — Jobs
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3. If you want to sell an idea, product or service, put yourself in the other person’s shoes
Just as the macOS, OS X and iOS operating systems, your website needs to be intuitive and self-explanatory. Hierarchy and structure through negative space are crucial and the page content needs to be clear and concise. Whether designing a page for oneself or for a client, the web designer needs to know the end-user and has to offer what the user is looking for, irrespective of the stage of the buyer’s journey. The buyer’s journey means that regardless of whether the page sells anything, users are said to be in either the Awareness, Consideration or Decision stage once they enter your website. This implies that your website should have an end goal for every user. Ideally, you want the visitor to do something, through a call to action. This could be a download or contacting you via email, making a purchase or signing up for a newsletter. Calls to action need to be clear, large enough to see and in enough locations so that users never get too far away from making that key click, and turn into a conversion.
4. You don’t beat the competition at their game. You redefine the game
Of course, there are many amazing websites across the world wide web and you certainly can’t compare yours to each of them. Take a look at competitors in your industry, and in your location, and don’t try to do things better, do them differently.
A glance at other sites should not put you down in your own efforts, it should rather motivate you to experiment with different styles and new ideas. If you are using the Chrome browser you may be aware of the “Developer Tools”, or a simple right-click to “Inspect”. With a little basic knowledge of HTML you can already find out which fonts are used on your favourite page and what colours a gradient consists of, what kind of margin and padding is used, and much more. Don’t copy, get inspired and create your own.
Apple’s tag line “Think different” is said to have been a reaction to IBM’s “Think” slogan, Apple’s strongest competitor back in these days. “Think different” was the slogan used since 1997 and is still, as of 2020, printed on the back of the box of the Apple iMac, and possibly elsewhere.
5. Never rest on your laurels
Although realistically we have to work towards a certain goal, a web designer should look at the first results of the design critically. Websites need to be tested and a trial and error phase is inevitable. Furthermore, parameters of the page that lead to better SEO should be optimized consistently. Despite the biggest chunk of effort is to be done at the beginning and throughout the design process, search engine optimization is a never-ending process and equally important after the page goes online. With increasing competition, it becomes more challenging for a web entity to be found by crawlers and, conclusively, by your users. It may require a lot of work to create new content on a regular basis, optimize the existing one and keep up with new developments and trends, but it certainly pays off.
Steve Jobs, for example, knew that by developing the iPhone, he was about to make the iPod obsolete. But the company had to move on and innovate, and Jobs did not fear to take the risk. Do not stand still once you are satisfied with a result, keep up the efforts to stay on top.
6. Attention to detail
Once in the executive position of Apple, Jobs insisted that every element of the Macintosh computer should be aesthetically pleasing, right down to the circuit boards inside. This is equally applicable to web design. It doesn’t matter how small a design flaw appears. It is likely that website visitors will pick up on that mistake. Believe it or not, bad design elements, no matter how small, can have a significant impact on the conversion rate. In order to spot these, testing is indispensable. By asking others about their user experience, all these tiny inconsistencies can be identified.
“When you’re a carpenter making a beautiful chest of drawers, you’re not going to use a piece of plywood on the back, even though it faces the wall and nobody will ever see it,” — Jobs told Playboy in 1985.
7. It’s not just the package but also the presentation
Apple’s product announcements used to be and still are remarkable events. Jobs became famous not only for his innovative and design thinking but also for his incredible presentation skills. Steve Jobs never actually coded anything himself, and some voices may say that while Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak was the creator, while Jobs was the Marketing genius. Whether one would agree or not, he took it to a remarkable level. He knew the importance of marketing back in 1985 already, but that at the end of the day, a brand would only survive if the quality is convincing.
“Ad campaigns are necessary for competition; IBM’s ads are everywhere. But good PR educates people; that’s all it is. You can’t con people in this business. The products speak for themselves.” — Steve Jobs, in 1985
By designing a website for a client or for yourself, you also need to think of ways to promote them, regardless if it’s through paid ads, organic content on social channels, Google, or traditional means.
8. Love what you do and never lose your passion
Steve Jobs simply loved what he did and he did it with passion. Even after he was fired from Apple in the early years, he knew that this was what he really wanted to do in life and tried it again: With success.
“Sometimes life’s going to hit you in the head with a brick. Just keep going. …and most importantly, you need to have the courage to follow your heart and intuition.” — Steve Jobs in a speech at Stanford University, 2005
As a designer, Steve Jobs has left a tremendous legacy. Thinking of Apple, we think of Steve Jobs and the innovative design he created, rather than specific hardware. An innovator and Marketing Genius.