Simple Bull****

While I may not be a huge Apple fan (I really despise iTunes, though I love my iPod), I do feel that they tapped into a psyche that no one else did previously. The article states that Apple used Picasso’s bull lithographs as examples of taking something complex and breaking it down to the most simple pieces.

It’s hard to argue that Apple has been more successful at doing this than anyone else. The first, and I think best example of this is the original iMac that was introduced in the late 90s. Prior to that, home computers required a lot of setting up, cables, and a good amount of knowledge on operation. Apple took the idea of the PC and simplified it down to it’s most basic components...the mouse, keyboard, and monitor. Sure, the computer was built into the monitor, but most people who wanted the iMac didn't care. Apple tapped into a market of people who had not yet made the jump into the home computer market. It was a brilliant decision that is likely a strong reason Apple has as many fanatics out there as it does.

They would continue to stick with the idea of simplicity with their other two major products...the iPod and the iPhone. MP3 players existed prior the iPod, but Apple decided to build a player that was white (very different from the black everything on the market), and would have only a couple of buttons. The white color would give it a very clean look, which also made it stand out beyond anything else on the market. Throughout the years they would continue to simplify the design by removing all the buttons except for the “click wheel” (which would eventually not even click but would become touch sensitive), as well as reduce the size from a deck of cards to smaller than a USB thumbdrive. During all these revisions, it would still retain the same usability and functions (with the exception of the iPod Shuffle).

Finally, Apple would take the idea of simplicity to the world of smartphones. Now, in this situation, Apple would make the iPhone the first smartphone on the market with a touchscreen and no physical keyboard at all. They made the icons on the display simple to read and use, restricted the ability to open it and mess around with it (again, for simplicity reasons primarily), and gave it a nice, sleek body to house it all in. Since it’s release, hundreds of smartphones have flooded the market...some better than the iPhone and many that are not. However, none of them can match the design of the iPhone for sleekness and cleanliness.

Apple has truly taken the idea of simplifying the bull to the highest levels, and it’s understandable to see why they've been so successful in it as they have.