Intuitive.
A word that the marketing community have grasped to their bosom and are not going to let go.
From Apple and Nokia through to Ford and VW, every new product has seemingly been designed with ‘human intuition’ at its core.
Now in many ways that’s a very good thing … and certainly life is much easier for it … however part of me feels society is losing out because of it.
We’ve already had people blame Google for supposedly destroying mankind’s ability [and willingness] to think… however if you think that’s true, I think you should also be pointing your accusations towards any brand that talks about ‘intuitive’ system software.
When I started using computers, I learnt through trial and error.
I didn’t have any lessons … I didn’t read any books … I just rolled up my sleeves and tried stuff.
Now I should point out, I’m not talking about technical stuff, I’m talking about everyday work software … however back in the early 90’s, that was like learning a totally new language and through experimenting, I got pretty fluent in it.
Here’s the thing …
Because I didn’t have any ‘rules’, I learnt how to use the software and do with it as I wanted.
Sure, some of the things could probably be done more efficiently and effectively than I was doing it – but it worked for me – which is why I can’t help but think this ‘uber-intuitive’ attitude being adopted by companies these days, is denying people both a sense of discovery and a willingness to explore.
I’m not saying companies should stop issuing ‘instruction books’ or make things plainly difficult to operate, however I do think making everything so ‘seamless’ is not always as beneficial as we may think and I also find it somewhat ironic that so many people think Apple represents the pinnacle of empowering creativity, when everything they do is so finely managed, that they’re basically controling you rather than the other way round.
Sorry Baz. 🙂