Blog Pattern Language
By Sam Martin - August 25, 2011
The following is an excerpt from A Fine Line: How Design Strategies Are Shaping the Future of Business, the book written by frog Founder Hartmut Esslinger in 2008. Hartmut and frog worked with Steve Jobs at Apple in the early 1980s to create the “Snow White” design language for the Apple IIc computer, and again in 1985 when Jobs briefly left Apple and started the computer company NeXT, where Hartmut and frog designed the NeXT Cube. In this passage from the book, Hartmut offers a glimpse into those tumultuous years for Apple and Jobs, and some insights into why the Apple CEO’s creative and strategic vision became so effective.
Seeing the Future and Supporting Bold Initiatives
By Hartmut Esslinger
To take another look at the power of bold and inspired leadership, let’s return to the story of Apple and its revolutionary leader, Steve Jobs. After I joined the company back in 1982, I quickly realized that Steve was almost fanatically focused on building Apple into the greatest consumer technology brand in the world—a focus that hasn’t wavered over the years. He has a sometimes-dictatorial manner that ticks off a lot of people, but he’s also a charismatic leader who inspires a deep-seated trust among his workers. Steve demands a lot from his team, and typical corporate mediocrity is not an option. He is and always has been the sole authority in determining what makes an “insanely great” Apple product and what doesn’t. Fortunately, his judgment is almost always right on—and when it isn’t, it’s close.
Blog Pattern Language
By Sam Martin - January 27, 2010
The announcement of the Apple iPad elicited passionate responses at frog design, the innovation firm that created a prototype tablet for Steve Jobs and Apple…in 1983. The retro designs didn’t quite make it to market (though they did come close), but the design language that frog Founder Hartmut Esslinger created for the company — known as the Snow White computer language — was used for Apple’s groundbreaking Apple II computer series from ‘83 and ’84. Now, it seems, Jobs is responsible for yet another game changer with the iPad, and Esslinger and frog were eager to weigh in on the design, technology, and strategy behind the device soon after the announcement.
“I love it,” said Esslinger from Vienna, where he teaches “convergent industrial design” at the University of Applied Arts. “The iPad is the beginning of a new category — one that is hyper-convergent and humanistic.”
Blog Pattern Language
By Sam Martin - January 22, 2010
Because of all the hype and buildup surrounding next week’s (supposed) launch of an Apple tablet, including thoughts by our own Mark Rolston in the New York Times on how said tablet may or may not succeed in the marketplace, the folks here at frog design opened up the archives to find some early prototypes our designers created for a young Steve Jobs back in the early 80s. Yes, good innovation can take a while.
Blog Pattern Language
By Sam Martin - April 24, 2009
Famed Silicon Valley venture capitalist and Internet entrepreneur Guy Kawasaki offers a colorful interview with frog Founder and legendary designer Hartmut Esslinger. Hartmut discusses his philosophy on design and his new book A Fine Line: How Design Strategies Are Shaping the Future of Business, to be published in June by Jossey-Bass, an imprint of John Wiley & Sons.
