Pogue on Design

David Pogue on the shoddy design quality of many consumer electronic products:

But you don’t have to have an M.B.A. to understand that refusing to compromise on design, for any reason, can lead to fantastic commercial success. Look at Apple, Google, Sonos, R.I.M. (makers of the BlackBerry), or (in its glory days) Palm. So what goes through the minds of executives who don’t sweat the small stuff? Don’t they realize that critics and bloggers will find and publicize the limitations? Don’t they realize that customers nowadays can compare notes, can warn each other away?

I think a lot of these MBA-type executives have no idea what good design really is.

★ Friday, 8 February 2008