Apple Sets the Bar for Ford
Core77 had a short but interesting interview with Moray Callum, Ford's executive director of design. An interesting tidbit:
Core77: Stefan Lamm [executive designer, Ford Focus exterior] mentioned earlier today that things like the iPod and iPhone have changed how Ford approaches vehicles, because consumers are now used to these highly designed, really refined products. Do you find that to be the case?MC: Absolutely, it's the point of entry for us now. Consumers are much more aware of fit and finish, quality.
I've had many conversations with business partners and web service providers concerning customer expectations in which I've mentioned that the bar isn't set at what's expected for industry X, the bar is set by Google and Amazon and eBay - the companies that have defined what the web is supposed to behave like. It's interesting here to see the same disruptive power, this time from Apple, extending far beyond competitors in the iPod's adjacent fields (consumer electronics).
Great design not only has the ability to disrupt the industry it applies to, but also any number of other seemingly unrelated industries and interfaces. Ten years ago, who would have ever thought that an MP3 player would be a driving factor for design decisions made about Ford's flagship electric vehicle.
