AppleVsGoogleTheDesignWar

Copyright:MoGoltz2014

Itseemsthatyoucantgomorethanafewweekswithoutrunningacrossanarticlecomparing
AppleandGoogle.Thisisindeedanotheroneofthosearticles,butfromtheperspectiveofhow
designplaysaroleinthebattleoftechcompaniesinwhichthelateSteveJobswarnedwould
onedaygothermonuclear.

SoifwedoframethecompetitionbetweenAppleandGoogleasawar,thenitwouldbehelpful
todefinevictory(astoavoidanotherIraqlikesituation).Sowhatdoesonecompanyhavetodo
towinthiswar?Simple:bemoresuccessful.Notsosimple:definesuccess.Wecouldmeasure
successquantitativelyandnumbersdotellastory,butletsfocusonthequalitativetheway
userexperiencecouldplayaroleindeterminingwinningmarketshareaswellasmindshareto
winthewar.

Innovationishighlycorrelatedwithbusinesssuccess,andisoftenthecauseofit.Solets,fora
moment,thinkaboutinnovation.Now,innovationisawordthatgetstossedaroundalot,andfor
many,haslostitsmeaning.IdliketobespecifichereanduseLarryKeelys1definitionof
innovation:innovationisthecreationofaviablenewoffering.Thismeansthatforanythingto
beconsideredinnovative,acompany(oranypersonororganizationforthatmatter)must
identifytheproblemsthatmatterandmovethroughthemsystematicallytodeliverelegant
solutions.(NotethatthisistheoppositeofSamsungsthrowspaghettiatthewallandseewhat
sticksmethodology).ItturnsoutthatLarryKeelyandhisteamatDoblin,aninnovation
consultancy,havestudiedthenatureofinnovationforyears,andtheyhavecomeupwitha
frameworktounderstandinnovationasanecosystemcomprisedoftendifferent,yetrelated,
formsofinnovation.Themoretypesofinnovationacompanyconsistentlyandsuccessful
utilizes,thegreaterthechanceofwinningthewarinthemarketplace.

EnlistDesignerstoJointheFight
Innovationisnotjustaboutnewandimprovedproducts,itsoftenthethingsthatwe,as
consumersandusers,cantsee.Thosetypesofinnovationareinternaltoacompany,suchas
howadesignteamimprovestheirprocesseswithinGoogle,orhowaninternetservicesteamat
Appleimprovestheirprocesses.Forthesakeofthisarticle,letsfocusinononewaythata
companycouldimprovetheirdesignprocess:enhancingthetoolsdesignersuse.Companies
suchasDisneyandPixardothisallthetime,thenewlyreleasedMischiefIllustrationApplication
(https://www.madewithmischief.com)isaprimeexample,asisFacebooksinternallydeveloped
Origami(https://facebook.github.io/origami/).Whendesignershavebettertoolstheycan
articulate,test,andrefinetheirideasmoreeffectivelyandefficiently.Bettertoolsmakeforeasier
andfasteriteration,whichinturnleadstobetterideas.Betterideas(whenexecutedwelland
consistently)enhancethelikelihoodofsuccessindesignanddesignthinking.Andasmuchof
yesterdayscuttingedgetechbecomescommoditized,designisincreasinglybecominga
1

LarryKeelyistheDirectorofDoblin,anInnovationconsultancyandThinkTankbasedinChicago.HeisalsoAdjunctFacultyatmy
AlmaMatter,TheInstituteofDesignatIIT.

differentiatorinmanymarkets,especiallyinthetechsector.Designisdoingmoretopush
companysbottomlinethaninthepast.Creatingbettertoolsforacompanysdesignteamisa
goodinvestmentforthefutureofthatcompany.Theimpactofmakingbettertoolsavailableto
designersoutsideofthecompanywouldhaveanevenbiggerimpactonthatcompanysability
toinnovateeffectivelygrowingtheirworkforceforfree.Creatingacommunityof3rdparty
designerswhocancreatebettersoftwarefortheirplatformwouldbeahugeshiftinthedynamic
betweenGoogleandApple.

Ifthislogicsoundsfamiliar,itis,becauseitswhatApple,Google,andeveryotherTech
companythatcreatesplatformsalreadydoesfordevelopers.TheydogfoodIDEs,APIs,and
newprogramminglanguagesinternallywithinhousedevelopersandreleasebetatoolsto
selectexternalthirdpartydevelopers.Onlyafterrefinementtothetools,dothosetoolsbecome
availabletothepublicforfree,oranominalmembershipfee.Techcompaniesshouldfollowthe
modeltheyhavecreatedfordevelopersandapplyittodesigners.Thisswift,yetpredictable,
yearlycadenceofdeveloperconferences(suchasWWDC,orGoogleI/O)givesdevelopersa
chancetolearnnewtoolsandskills.IamarguingthattowintheWar,GoogleandApplemust
startinvitingdesignerstosimilarconferences,sothatthedesignerscanhelpbuildapps,which
willinturnhelpeachcompanywinthebattleswhichmakeuptheWar.

SupplyDesignerswithAmmunition
Ittakesamultidisciplinaryteamtoquicklycreatethenextbigapp,andappsaretheprimary
reasonmostpeoplechooseasmartphoneplatform.Whileinthepastitwaspossiblefor
platformstobesuccessfulbyattractingandsupportingonlydevelopersthetimehascomefor
thetechindustrytoevolveandexplicitlyattractandsupportinteractiondesignersaswell.

SohowcantheplatformcreatorssuchasAppleorGoogleattractdesigners?Theyshould
createnewtools,techniques,andtechnologiestosupportthewaydesignerswork.Ithinkthese
kindsoftoolsshouldbereleasedinasimilarwaythatdevelopertoolsare.Earlyandopenpublic
betaaccessareprovidedsothatdesignerscanprovidedirectfeedbackasthetoolsarebeing
developed.Thedialoguecreatedbetweenthetoolmakersandthetooluserswouldallow
designerstohelpshapethetoolstheywillusetocreatetheirdesigns.Empoweringdesigners
thewaydevelopershavehistoricallybeenempoweredwillcreateamoreinclusiveand
innovativeworkspace.

Towinthebattlesofmarketandmindshare,eachcompanyneedsmorehighquality,popular,
andusefulapplicationsthantheircompetitionhas.Afterall,agreatplatformisuselesswithout
apps.Togetmoretitlesonaplatformrequiresthatpeoplemakemoreappsforthatplatform.To
makemoreapps,peopleneedtoprogramthem,butthesoftwarealsoneedstobedesigned.
Techcompanieshavebecomeadeptatattractingengineers,butneedtogetbetteratattracting
designersbyfocusingontheirneeds,wants,andgoals.Onegreatwaytosupportdesigners
wouldbetomakeWYSIWYGvisualprototypingtoolsthatcombinevisualdesignwithinteraction
andanimation.ThoughtoolslikeAdobeFlashareprettymuchdead,theyrepresentedthekind
ofeffortIamwritingabout.Flashwasatoolthatalloweddesignerstocreateanimated

interactiveexperiences.Thoughoftenmisusedandaperformancehog,Flashwasatoolmade
fordesignersandprogrammersaliketocreateimmersiveexperiencesthat,atthetime,were
cuttingedge.ImnotadvocatingfortheresurgenceofFlash,butithasbeenshowntimeand
timeagainthatwhentoolsaremadeaccessibletopeoplewhoarenotprogrammers,thata
vibrantcornucopiaofcontentbecomesavailable.ConsiderthepopularityofgameslikeLittleBig
PlanetandMinecraft,inwhichpeoplewithoutcodingskillscreatedamazingandlavish
interactiveworlds.Imaginewhatappscouldbecreatedifdesignershadaccesstoprofessional
gradetoolsthatwereevenmorepowerfultocreatetheexperiencesoftomorrow.Designers
needandwanttocreatewhat'snext,butlackthetoolstodoso.

ModernSolutionsDictateModernWeapons
Itcanbearguedthatdesignersshouldjustlearntocodeworkinthemediumoffinal
production,andstopcomplaining.Whiletherearemanyadvantagestothisapproach,the
drawbacksaremuchlarger.Toproduceinnovativeandcreativeresults,designersneedtowork
inanwaythatallowsthemtoeasilycreate,evaluate,anditerateondesignswithoutbeing
distractedbytechnology.Theyneedtoprimarilyfocusonhowhumanswanttousetechnology,
andlessonhowthattechnologyfunctions.Thoughageneralunderstandingoftechnologyis
neededtocreateeffectiveandproductionreadydesigns,engineersarebesttaskedtofocuson
thetechnologicalimplementation.

Tomakethisargumenttangible,letmeuseanexample:Architectstypicallyfollowacreative
processthatbeginswithusingtoolsthatare(relatively)simpletoconductearlyexploration,and
morecomplextoolsarebroughtinonlyafteranideahasbeenrefinedandvetted.Soinitially,an
architectmaystartoffwithpencil&paper,thenmovetoaCADprogram,thenbuilda3Dmodel
beforethefullsizebuildingisconstructed.Thearchitectprogressesfromusingtoolsthatallow
freeformexpression,tothosethatprovideaccuracyandsupporttheintegrationoftechnical
constraintsintotheirideas.Ateachstageofthecreativeprocess,anarchitecthasuniqueneeds
thataremetbydifferentsetsoftools.Ifanarchitectwastoskipfreehandsketching,digital
drafting,andscalemodeling,bymovingfrominitialideastraighttoalifesizebuilding,the
resultswouldbehorrendous.

Thesamecanbesaidforinteractiondesigners.Movingfromideastraighttoprogrammingan
interfaceisjustnotaviableoption.Ideasneedtimeandspacetobegenerated,articulated,
evaluated,andrefinedbeforetheyareengineered.Havingtherighttoolsattherighttimeisas
paramountforarchitectsasitisforinteractiondesigners.Thetimehascomefordesignersto
haveaccesstomoderntoolstocreatemodernsolutions.

AnEvolvingBattlefieldofDesign
Interfacestandardsandconventionshaveevolvedmoreinthepastsevenyearsthantheyhave
intheentireeraofpersonalcomputing.Interfaceframeworkshavebecomemoresophisticated
inmanywayssuchasbyleveragingdedicatedGPUs,andnowtheyarerenderedinways
similartothatofvideogames.MostinterfacesdesignedbeforethefirstiPhonelivedonthe
desktoporlaptop,andforthemostpartnowhereelse.Today,designersmustcreateinterfaces

thataccommodatemultipletypes,sizes,andresolutionsofscreens.Thisadditionalcomplexity
meansthatthedesigneffortrequiredtoproduceasingleapphasincreased.Anappdesign
todaymaylivenotonlyonadesktop,tablet,orphone,butalsoonwatches,TVs,glasses,and
invirtualreality.Asthejoboftheinteractiondesignerhasbecomemorechallenging,thetools
theyusehavenotkeptupwiththepaceoftechnologicalinnovation.Designersneedmodern
toolsmorethantheyeverhavebefore.

Acrosstheboard,transitionsarebecomingastandardelementintodaysuserinterfaces.
Animationhasbecomeasimportantaslayout,color,typography,andotherelementsofdesign.
Whileitisnowtechnicallypossibletoengineerinterfaceswithrealisticmotion,itisnearly
impossiblefordesignerstoprototypesucheffectsinaneffectivewaywithoutprogramming.
Whiletheevolutionofuserinterfacestandardsandconventionshasbeenrapid,thetoolsto
designandprototype(notjustdevelop)nextgenerationexperiencesaresurprisinglylast
generation,andancientbycomparison.Yes,therearetoolsouttheresuchasFacebooks
Oragami,andevenGooglesPolymer,butthesearedevelopertoolsfirstandforemostthey
requireaworkingknowledgeofprogramming.Andyes,thereareothertoolslikeAfterEffects,
Keynote,TumultHype,andmore,butthesearenotspecializedtoolsforinteractiondesignersto
craft,experiment,anditerateoninterfaces.EvendedicatedtoolslikeAxurearenotrobust
enoughtoprototyperichinteractiveprototypesthatmoveandflowlikearealapp.Nomatter
whattoolsadesigneruses,therearelargegapsinfunctionalityandutilitythatarenotbeing
filled.

GoogleArmsUp
GooglesintroductionofnewMaterialDesignguidelineslastsummerhasmadethedearthof
moderninteractiondesigntoolsveryapparent.Googledidagreatjobprovidingvisualassets,
templates,andsamplefilesfordesignerstouseinitsguidelines(Areyoulistening,Apple?).

Unfortunately,theseguidelinesareintheAdobeIllustratorformat.AsmuchasIloveusing
Illustrator,itisa28yearoldapplicationbuiltuponPostScriptatechnologythatwascreatedfor
desktoppublishing.Toputthisintoperspective,inthelatestversionofIllustrator,CC2014,
usersfinallyhavetheabilitytocreatemodifiableroundedcorners!Roundedcorners,whichwere
abigdealinwebdesigninthelate90sandearly2000s,areanewfeatureintodays
interactiondesigntools.Howaredesignerssupposedtousestaticvectorgraphicstocreaterich
immersiveexperiencesthatmoveandrespondtoausersgestures?Theycant.Atleastnot
yet.

Recently,Googleuppedtheanteonthedesignfront.Aboutamonthago,Googleacquired
RelativeWave,creatorsofaninteractiondesignandprototypingapp,andarenowgivingthe
toolawayforfree(
http://techcrunch.com/2014/11/19/relativewavegetsacquiredbygoogleandstartsgivingits80
designappawayforfree/).ItseemsthatGoogleistryingtheirhandatsupportingdesigners
betterthanApple.Itisthatkindofbehindthescenessupportthatwillresultinbetterappsinthe
handsofpeopleeverywhere.Googlesmovetosupplydesignerswiththeweaponsand

strategiestheyneedisadecisiveactioninthedesignspacewar.NowthatitsApplesmove,I
amhopefulthattheywillretaliatewithforce,butonlytimewilltelliftheyrallyorretreat.

Conclusion
AppleandGoogle,onceoddbedfellowsandnowarchenemies,arefightingawartowinthe
heartsandmindsofusers.Towinthiswar,theymustwinthemoststrategicallysignificant
battles,whichmeanshavingmorehighlydesiredandhighqualityappsontheirplatformthan
theenemydoes.Toincreasethenumberofqualityapps,thesetechgiantsneedtoinvestinthe
designcommunityjustastheyhaveinthedevelopmentcommunity.

Attheendoftheday,everyonebenefitsfrombetterappscomingtomarket.Thedesirefor
creativeexpressionisthere,butinteractiondesignershaveaccesstolesssophisticatedtools
thantheirprogrammingcounterparts.Designersthinkdifferently,andaboutdifferentthings,than
programmersdo.Theyneedtoolstosupporttheirwork.Designersneednewtools,sotheycan
maximizetheirpotentialandcreateamazingnewexperiencestodayfortomorrowsusers.The
companythatenlistsandarmsdesignerswillhaveamoreformidablearmyandistherefore
morelikelytowinthewar.Thearmsracebetweenthesetwotechgiantsisonlyjustbeginning.
Imnotsurewhowillwinthiswar,butthiscompetitionwillbreedbetterdesignsandappsfor
usersworldwide.Nomatterwhowins,designerswillbebringingmoreandbetterspoilsofwarto
usersinthenearfuture.

BIO

Shlomo"Mo"GoltzisanInteractionDesignerandUserResearcheratHearsaySocial.Therehe
craftsexperiencesthatenablesthoseinthefinancialsectortodevelop,maintain,andenrich
relationshipswithcustomersviasocialmedia.Shlomocombinesqualitativeandquantitative
researchbasedmethodologiestoinformhisdesignprocess,withafocusoncreatingenterprise
softwarethatfeelsasdelightfultouseasconsumerproducts.