Design, opinion, everything….

An orange tree isn’t an orange tree because it produces oranges – no – it produces the fruit because it is an orange tree. For a long time, I have had the opinion that some people – artists and designers in particular, were always artists or designers. The career eventually caught up with us – if that makes sense.

For me personally, there isn’t another alternative in my mind. Does that mean I am narrow or limited? I don’t think so – nearly everything I do outside of work ends up having a bearing on my work, naturally. My granddad used to say that knowledge is hard to pick up, but easy to carry. I think the saying applies here.

Something interesting happened over the last week or so; we have been shown a “new way” by the guys at Apple. For years many of us have been using computing devices as a means to get things done, but the truth of it is that we have been working at using these devices… It’s a layer of complexity that we have negotiated every time we make something.

For example, a plumber gets a wrench and works on pipes and does the job of plumbing. A builder gets materials and builds. But if you try to show a young child or your granny how to write an email, there is a job they have to do before they can get to the job they want to do… Understanding the tool. They are not nerds. They are just people.

I think the new iPad is going to be a hit. But not because we nerds are going to buy them (even though we will). It’s because iPad will be the device we will recommend others to buy. Other people, the majority of people, want to do the thing they want to do and get on with their day. The simplicity of the iPad allows that. And for that reason, I think it will replace laptops as a new purchase.

The iPad, I believe is a computing tool that’s not really trying to be a computer. It’s trying to be a familiar tool that gets out of the way of the task.

If that is the future of computing, count me in.