JKR

Apple

Blimey, where to start? The truth is that Apple has harnessed the power of design more effectively than any business in the world. It is likely to report more than $100 billion in sales this year (roughly the same as Intel and Microsoft combined) and in ranking released in May, overtook Google to become the world’s most valuable brand.

Apple has made us more aware than ever before of the importance of design. Not just product design either. From packaging to retail experience and beyond, Apple has raised our expectations and sharpened our eye for design detail.

For those that are lucky enough to have one, we won’t forget the moment we unpacked our first iPhone. It was truly special. So special in fact, that most of us have kept the box. Similarly, the design of the Apple store is so different that it’s closer to visiting an attraction than to shopping. A bit like going to the Hamleys toy department as a child.

As Steve Jobs said, “Design is not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works.” At a time when our lives continue to be transformed by technology, Apple has made clever stuff so much more intuitive than any other brand.

Perhaps the cleverest thing of all is that, by encouraging us to ‘Think Different’, Apple has managed to make us all think the same.

By James Joice, Client Director, jkr. For the full article, see this week's copy of Marketing.