I did something crazy and picked up an iPhone this week. I’m not going to review it, as reviews are everywhere online right now, but I do want to point out some things that we can all learn from its design. None of these things are new or stray from the fundamental principles we know and love, but the fact that they are reinforced in such a popular, people-pleasing device should give us more confidence to use them in our own designs.

1. People are intelligent. The iPhone communicates this principle in a number of ways, from the packaging to the device controls: Users are expected to figure out most of the activation and functionality themselves, as nearly no documentation is supplied in the box. For a device that is, in many ways, unlike any other on the market, this assumes quite a lot about the users, and that’s a good thing.

In your own designs for packages, websites, and other user-focused pieces, consider ways you can treat users more intelligently. This doesn’t necessarily mean throwing instructions out the window, but it does mean not designing for the “lowest common denominator,” as some suggest. Treat users as the intelligent people they are, and they will come to respect your product and brand.

2. There can (and should) be simplicity in the complex. There’s no question that the iPhone is a complex device with tons of features and settings, but it never feels confusing due to its clean, simple, elegant design. Its touch controls are unlike those seen in other devices, and yet it takes only moments to master them.

We’ve all seen products and websites with tons of tightly packed buttons and controls, and these are intimidating. The iPhone has only a few actual push buttons, and the rest of the controls are handled on a screen with small groups of large, well-spaced buttons. The visual breathing room alone makes the device seem simpler.

What can you do to make a complex piece feel simple? Plenty of negative space, strong readability, effective icons, consistent elements, and logical groupings of controls all help make the complex feel far more manageable no matter what design genre. And you shouldn’t fear introducing a totally new type of control if it is inherently intuitive—both the iPhone and the Nintendo Wii are great examples of this.

3. People like pretty things. It sounds obvious and even a little condescending, but we’re attracted to good design, and, believe it or not, this concept circles back to Apple not including instructions with the iPhone. Consumers give much more time and attention to something that looks good, and are more forgiving of a good design with some functional problems than a bad design with the same.

Keep in mind that this does not mean a good design will necessarily mask problems with the product functionality, and you should always design with function as the focus. But if the aesthetics are strong, consumers will be drawn to your product and more inclined to use it.

In the end, the iPhone’s effectiveness is a result of working with design principles on their most fundamental level, focusing on function and then folding in attractive visuals. From it, we can see that the fundamentals are not limiting, and in fact can produce something totally new and groundbreaking.

This entry was posted on Friday, July 13th, 2007 at 2:32 pm and is filed under Design. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.