About Lean

There has been a recent change in my behavior that occured in the last few months.

I can’t recall when it happened, but I believe it’s a feeling still growing in me as of this moment, typing these lines. If I was to guess, I would say the foundations of this happened 2 years and a half ago when I finally turned on the Power button of my first Mac.

Here’s my dilemma: after ‘officially’ two and a half years in the tech/web industry, and the same amount of time using a Mac: I am disgusted by ugly programs, badly designed websites and even Powerpoint decks. It goes even further: it affects my use of fonts (and yes: I hate both Arial and Comic Sans with a passion and personally prefer Helvetica Neue Ultra Light over these, any day!)

I’ve become very picky and specific in terms of what I like and enjoy, and I like being that way.

I have always been attracted to well-designed things, from cutlery to furnitures, devices, and even a house, you name it!

But what’s important is that, as my tastes have been more difficult to satisfy, the same applied for usability and user interfaces. I can’t use a program that has a crappy UI, nor a website that’s surrounded in ads and for which I can’t find the link I’m interested in (e.g. most times, links to the ‘Contact’ or ‘About’ pages.)

I complain (A LOT) as soon as something is not easy to use and/or understand. You know why? I think I can trace it back to several elements, but let’s explore two of them:

1. Apple.

Yes, blame Apple. Actually, if you’re in the same mindset as me, please feel free to congratulate Apple, more than anything.
In between the beauty of the Mac’s hardware and software design, I’ve come to use beautiful apps with pretty icons.

It may not seem to make much sense for a lot of people, especially Windows users, but a beautiful app catches the app. After you watch it bounce in your dock and let it launch, you then see the smooth interface. It’s all there, ready to be used, with the main actions accessible in one click. Everything works well, and even if the application does only one action, it does it very well without any hassle. The same goes with iOS: you can say whatever you want about Android and how open it is (or is not) and how the phones have more features both software and hardware and are so much better/bigger. I would know: I have one.

But the truth is when a feature is launched on iOS, it just works.

Literally.

It’s not demonstrated in a keynote unless it’s ready to ship. And the apps have a clean UI, with swiping gestures enabled, and a beautiful hardware design. I’ve been saying for a few months now how sexy iOS apps are compared to Android, and I have found two perfect examples: Path and Flipboard.

[The nerdiest of you will know these apps and argue that Path is also available on Android, and it's true: I'm a user and true fan since version 1 launched in the fall of 2010. But some features like the clock sliding and following your finger when you scroll down, are iOS only features that (at least for the moment) can't be replicated on Android.]

I will deal with Android in an upcoming post as I have my fair share of things to say, but to sum this point up, it’s Apple’s (and through it, Steve Jobs’) appeal to mix beauty with simplicity.

2. Visual Appeal

As far as I remember I have always been attracted things dealing with beauty, and being seen. I don’t mean that in a materialistic kind of way. I just mean that, I’ve always had an interest for art/artists, and always respected their work. Some of it appealed to me more than anything, either visually, or musically (I’ve been practising guitar since age 7 and music is a very important part of my life. Even today, I can’t have a single day without listening to music.)

The main point of this article is: my taste, in terms of design, has changed, and I do not accept ugly. This is why I complain about Windows and my next-gen Lenovo laptop at work. This is why I can’t help but scream mentally at salespeople who are displaying Powerpoint decks in Comic Sans without any element of design and tons of texts to kill your eyes.

But as I mentioned before, I’m happy that way. And for the projects I have in mind, and my 2012 resolutions, it’s even more of a good sign!

Liked this article? You should read these...

• November 15, 2010 -- Computer users: you should thank the iPad
• April 16, 2010 -- WAZAA! Week #07
• October 6, 2011 -- Steve Jobs: restrospective and acknowledgements
• March 3, 2011 -- Thoughts on the new iPad2 tablets!