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Introduction
Technology progresses at an exponential rate and systems become more automated over
time. However, the success of user-friendly technology is determined by how easy it is to operate
and how natural the mapping of the controls are so that the user can intuitively understand how
to use the technology without having to read an instruction manual. In this way, people are
drawn to use technology if it is successful in that aspect. By analyzing accident proneness and
modernism, and through the use of Dieter Rams ten principles for good design and the
Technology Acceptance Model, successful consumer technologies tend be simple, elegant and
easy to operate.
People who encounter technology are different from one another. The term accident
proneness originated in the early twentieth century during the First World War in Europe. It is
defined as “the tendency of a particular person to have more accidents than most people,” and is
a consequence of injuries that occurred at the interface between people and technology
(Burnham, 2009, p.1). It was the period when the modern movement in architecture and
industrial design emerged, where machines and cities forced artists to reconsider their
environment, and changed the way people experience, view, and deal with the world (Denzer,
2004). The idea of accident proneness became an exquisite articulation for thinkers attempting to
deal with the interface between science and technology, and illuminated the ways in which
Western civilization interacted with technology. The phenomenon exemplified a transition from
human carelessness and recklessness that people believed could be prevented. Accident
proneness started to fade away toward the end of the twentieth century when safety precautions
were fixated in technology by experts in policy makers (Burnham, 2009). With the fixation in
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safety precautions, technology became to be developed more carefully with a stronger emphasis
on design.
Until then, it was the modernist ideas that influenced every aspect of design, including
graphics, architecture, art, literature, and music. Modernism became a hallmark of modern
design, involving exploration of new resources, a dismissal of historical order, and a
simplification of structure by a dismissal of embellishment. An English artist, William Morris
drafted the modern belief that utility was equally important to aesthetic design. Morris despised
large-scale, inferior quality industrial items and encouraged a return to well made, handcrafted
items. He is known for his famous statement, “have nothing in your house you do not know to be
useful, or believe to be beautiful” (Denzer, 2004). Modern designers embraced new technologies
with the idea of consumerism in the 1920s. The aesthetic design of the machine became
fundamental principle in modernism, and the two important people who understood the industry
were Walter Gropius and Le Corbusier. Gropius had the foundation of uniting art with
technology and educated the new generation of designers and architects to adopt the idea of the
modern industry. Corbusier, who was an influential architect, initiated an obsession with the
designs of engineers that included automobiles cruise ships, and grain silos. His book Vers Une
Architecture became the best-selling architecture book of all time. Modernism became
widespread and the leading style of the 20th century when the foremost European modernists
immigrated to the United States in the 1930s and influenced the modern progressive artists
(Denzer, 2004).
It was in the 1980s when Dieter Rams, an industrial designer famously known for 20th
century furniture product designs such as the 1956 Braun SK 4 record player, became
increasingly disturbed by the state of the world around him. It was described as “an impenetrable
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confusion of forms, colors and noises.” Knowing that he was an important figurehead to that
world, he questioned himself whether his design was good design. And since good design is
unable to be finitely quantified, Rams went on to state the ten significant principles (also known
as commandments) for what he thought was good design (Vitsoe, Good design, 2015).
According to the first principle, good design is innovative, meaning that there is always a
new opportunity for the development of an innovative design offered by technology. The second
principle states that good design makes a product useful, meaning it emphasizes the usefulness of
a product and ignores anything that takes away value from it. The third principle states that good
design is aesthetic; meaning the beauty of a product is integral to its usefulness. The fourth
principle states that a good design makes a product understandable, meaning that the product’s
form is well executed making it easy for the consumer to intuitively operate it. The fifth principle
states that good design is unobtrusive, meaning that a good product fulfills a purpose by being
discrete and impersonal instead of being decorative. The sixth principle states that good design is
honest, meaning that it doesn’t to more than what it was by being manipulative. The seventh
principle states that good design is long lasting, meaning that it never loses its charm with time
by becoming an antique. The eighth principle states that good design is thorough down to the last
detail, meaning that is accurate and carefully thought of with every aspect taken into account.
The ninth principle states that good design is environmentally friendly, meaning that it preserves
the ecological footprint by conserving resources and minimizing pollution. Finally, the last
principle states that good design is as little as possible, meaning that it is minimalistic with
essential features that make it pure and simple (Vitsoe, Good design, 2015).
Based on the principles of good design, one can determine whether a technology is user-
friendly or if it is complex to operate. From the ten principles described above, the components
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that stand out in majority of user-friendly consumer products are an aesthetic design that is
useful and intuitive, an honest and thorough design that is less accident prone, and a
minimalistic design that resonates purity and simplicity. According to the Technology
Acceptance Model constructed by Davis and Warshaw in 1989, consumers tend to adopt a
technological product based on primarily two reasons. They are the perceived usefulness of the
product, and the perceived ease of use of the product. Through the perceived usefulness of a
product, the consumer will develop some value from the technology that serves as a sense of
functional purpose. Through its perceived ease of use, the consumer will believe that the
technology can be operated in a learnable and unforgettable method (Davis, Bagozzi &
Warshaw, 1989).
For instance, a successful consumer technology that follows Dieter Rams’ design
principles and the Technology Acceptance Model would be Apple’s revolutionary music device,
the iPod. The iPod is the first consumer icon of the 21st century, and it represents a seamless
balance between aesthetics and functionality, of audio and touch. This makes iPod “the auditory
world in the palm of a hand” (Bull, 2006). Also dubbed as the personal jukebox, the user can
listen to their music anytime, wherever they are, and at the same time control their music using
just their fingertips. In 2007, 35% of Apple’s revenue came from sales of the iPod, and the rest
were from their music and computer sales (Apple, Inc., 2007). The reason why the iPod was so
successful is because the product was designed to be user-friendly unlike the Sony Walkman
invented in the 1980s, or the Microsoft Zune that was not very successful in the consumer
market.
The flawless aesthetic design of the iPod makes it feel comfortable for the user to hold it
on their palms, to rub their thumb over the navigation wheel, and touch the smooth white colored
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surface (Bull, 2006). Apple’s neutral color selection of the product, for instance the white and
gray, is also what contributes to the aesthetic property of the design. The reason why iPod is a
useful and intuitive product is because of the relationship between controls and their movements
or effects. The natural mapping between controls and their effects is what results in a greater
perceived ease of use. The effects of using the product correspond to the expectations that are
achieved from using the product. For instance, scrolling around the touch wheel to navigate the
menu feels natural. The icon of the universal ‘Play’ and ‘Pause’ symbol associated with the
lower button makes it an obvious choice for the user to play or pause their music. The left and
right arrows on each side of the wheel seem logical for the user to fast-forward, rewind, or even
change the song of their playlist. The upper ‘Menu’ button is what takes the user to the main
menu, and the button at the center of the wheel enables the user to select an option from the
navigation menu. In this way, the similarity of layout, behavior, or meaning associated with the
buttons makes iPod a device that has good mapping (Lidwell, Holden, Butler, & Elam, 2010, p.
152). This also ensures the perceived usefulness of the iPod because the consumer will believe
that the technology can be operated in an intuitive way. The same way, natural mapping can be
applied to the Segway transportation system or car windows. The Segway uses great mapping.
The user may lean forward to go forward, or just lean backward to go backward. As for car
windows, the association between the window control and the raising and lowering of the
window seems natural when it is fixated on the wall of the door. It would not appear natural if
the control is mounted on the surface of the armrest, as the user might accidentally open the car
window with their elbow on the armrest (Lidwell et al., 2010, p. 153).
As an honest and thorough design, the iPod was designed to be less accident prone
through its forgiveness features. According to the principle of forgiveness, designs should help
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humans prevent errors and reduce the negative consequences if errors do occur. If forgiveness is
fostered, designs will provide a sense of safety, security, and stability, which enables the user to
learn, explore, and use the design. Through reversibility of actions, the iPod has reversible
functions if the intent of the user changes. For instance, playing the next or previous song by
pressing the left arrow or right arrow respectively ensures that the user does not accidently skip
their favorite song. The device is also designed to have has safety nets. For instance, if the user
erased the content on their iPod through settings, they can synchronize their device on iTunes for
a backup. The iPod is also less susceptible to accidental touches through confirmation, where
verification of intent is required before critical actions can be performed. This is because the
iPod has a ‘hold’ switch that can be switched on when the device is in the user’s pocket to in
order to minimize the accidental pressing of buttons. As a warning mechanism, the iPod also has
a battery icon on the screen that indicates how much power the device has until the next charge.
Using forgiveness by help, the iPod was designed to assist in basic operations and
troubleshooting through the intuitive scroll wheel and navigation menu. Similarly, the principle
of forgiveness is applied in road signs that are designed to make roads more forgiving by
cautioning drivers of imminent hazards. In a similar way as a safety precaution, fire alarms have
a ‘breaking glass’, which is a barrier that prevents accidental pulling of the fire alarm switch. In
modern consumer automobiles where there are airbags in cars, or even the pilot ejection seats in
an aircraft are designed to protect the human during a consequence of catastrophic failure.
(Lidwell et al., 2010, p. 104-105). Therefore, using the principles of forgiveness, user-friendly
consumer technology like the iPod were designed to make the product appear trustworthy.
Apart from the product’s safety features, the Apple iPod is a minimalistic design that
radiates simplicity and purity. This principle of Dieter Rams adopted by Apple makes their
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products unique to many competitors in the consumer technology industry. For instance the iPod
was packed with less features than the Microsoft’s Zune. The Zune was integrated of the Zune
Marketplace with a pre-existing marketplace that supported Microsoft’s popular Xbox console.
The Zune also had the ability to wirelessly share media to other Zune users, a larger display to
view media, a music subscription alternative to the individual song purchasing mechanism, and
Microsoft’s large Windows user base which was the foundation of strength for other Microsoft
products. Because of this many, early reviewers believed that Zune’s additional features would
make the device a powerful competitor to the iPod (Huberty, 2010, p. 12). However, as a turn of
events, the Zune sold 2 million units since its launch in 2006, whereas Apple sold on average
3.53 million iPods a month. As of 2008, Apple sold over 140 million units of the iPod since its
launch in 2001. This gave the Zune a commonly used phrase, “distant second” (Siegler, 2008).
The reason why Apple sold millions of iPods is because their design is minimalistic.
According to Ockham’s Razor, given the option between functionally equivalent designs, the
simplest design must be selected. In that sense, simplicity is preferred to complexity in design.
As Albert Einstein would say, “Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not
simpler,” Ockham’s razor is based on simplicity. His principle suggests that unnecessary
elements decrease a design’s efficiency and increases the likeliness of unanticipated
consequences. The aesthetic appeal of Ockham’s principle involves the “cutting” of unnecessary
elements from the design by removing impurities and making the resultant design more pure and
clean. For example, the iPod’s display was designed with the fewest visual elements that enhance
its readability. In that sense, every aspect of the iPod’s design was evaluated and many
unnecessary features were removed, without compromising the device’s function. Finally, the
expression of many elements in the iPod is minimized as much as possible without
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compromising the function of the design. Another technology that uses Ockham’s razor is
Google’s website, which has a simple and minimalistic design unlike many other Internet
websites. On their website, Google eliminated advertising and ad hoc functions making it look
simple and elegant. The resultant website is the best in performance, and it made Google one of
the most user-friendly search engines on the Internet. In a similar sense, the Taburet M Stacking
stool is a minimalistic design built from a single piece of molded wood and has no extra
elements, as Ockham would suggest. The result is a strong, comfortable, and a stackable design,
which radiates purity and simplicity (Lidwell et al., 2010, p. 172-173). Using Ockham’s razor,
the Apple iPod was carefully designed, and because of its minimalistic design, it radiates purity
and simplicity. One can truly appreciate the minimalistic user-friendly design of Apple products,
which made Apple the most valuable brand in the world (O’Reilly, 2014).
Although user-friendly technology like Apple’s products makes consumer products
accessible to inexperienced consumers, they can also make its users dependent on their software
programs from Apple and its developers. It was Steve Job’s vision to apply the visual screen
elements to Apple products without revealing the programming language behind the product
design. In that sense, the programming features of the user-friendly device are hidden to the
consumer, and unlike other consumer products in the market such as Android phones, Apple
products do not have an open platform. Job’s intention was primarily to market the product to
the mass consumers (including technology illiterate people), and because of that interest, he
largely disregarded the social and intellectual principles that underlined the earlier designs. Job’s
decisions in how Apple products are designed became a historical turning point that led to
paradoxical situations for future developers of graphical user interfaces. Jobs thought of
computers as a tool instead of a medium that enables communication. Unlike many of his
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contemporaries, he viewed the interface as a way that makes technology user-friendly. As Neil
Postman would say, “A technology………. is merely a machine,” and “a medium is the social
and intellectual environment a machine creates.” The same way Douglas Engelbart and Alan
Kay focused on the social and intellectual environments created by the computer. For instance,
Englebart would say that a computer technology should not be haphazardly developed. His
research focused on the social effects of human computer interaction. The same way, Kay was
also aware of the impact on computers on society. Kay’s interface model trailed a logical
intellectual development to cultivate computer literary skills. His drive was to develop the
computer as a communication medium by making the learning method available to children.
However, Jobs who thought of the computer as a machine had a different approach, which he
used for Apple computers. Even though Apple products like the iPod or the iPhone are user-
friendly for technology illiterate people, the design also limits the user and makes them
dependent on the Apple interface since such devices cannot programed by individual consumers.
Postman would refer to this as a “knowledge monopoly.” This is because only people with high
programming knowledge and access to Apple developer information are able to program the
machine. In that sense, even though Apple delivers their products to the mass consumers, it also
confines them to buy pre-programmed software equipment than only Apple can control (Barnes,
2010).
The strategy of consumer design interfaces in software where the machine operations are
hidden from the users became prevalent in 1984 with the idea of “user-friendly” software. It
created a group of people who can operate machines who are completely illiterate on how it
works or how it is programmed. In this way, today’s consumers are able to do some jobs without
understanding why or how it is done. It created a new industry that makes it possible to operate
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technology without knowing anything about computing. The challenge is that it becomes
increasingly difficult to train the people who will design the next generation of computers.
Another problem with user-friendly consumer technology is that, by providing less support to the
progress of computer literary skills, graphical interfaces fail when is comes to developing
computing skills that are essential for the future generation to improve and sustain computer
technology. This further widens the gap between consumer technology users and professional
software engineers. This paradox also portrays that the social and technical variables that
influence technology are so different that it is difficult to determine how a technology will
develop since many technologies do not develop according to the intensions of its originators.
However, we can still argue that it was singlehandedly Steve Job’s idea to add a user-friendly
graphical screen to the Macintosh, and it changed the way in which interfaces are developed in
consumer technology. As a consequence, social outcomes of technology are moving in an
opposite direction that original inventors intended them to be (Barnes, 2010).
Conclusion
Before consumer technology became user-friendly and more accessible to technology
illiterate people, we lived in an era where we had to learn how to operate technology through
specialization. With the development of simple and elegant consumer technology that follows
Dieter Ram’s principles of design and the Technology Acceptance Model, successful consumer
technology such as the iPod has become more user-friendly and minimalistic in design. Although
the consequences of user-friendly technology may seem uncertain to future developers because
of the increasing gap between consumer technology users and skilled software developers as
discussed in Susan Barnes’ article, we are slowly moving into the era where technology learns
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from us. For instance, AdSense is software developed by Google that customizes ad search
results based on the users’ search habits. Knowing that a user searches for a particular product,
the machine learns from the user and displays the product on typically every website that has ad
banners (Custom Ads Search). In this way, technology is evolving to learn from our habits. The
more consumer technology learns from our habits, the more automated they will become. For
instance, the Hyundai Genesis car features an advanced Automatic Emergency Braking System
that automatically deploys if there is an imminent crash. Using the cameras and the radar sensors
preinstalled in the cars, the system automatically calculates extreme conditions such as fog or
rain, and alerts the user of possible danger. As an additional element of safety, the system can
even apply a full brake force stopping power between the range of 5 and 50 MPH. In this way,
consumer technology has become more automated and less prone to accidents (Hyundai
Genesis). Although the future of consumer technology may be uncertain, by learning from the
past, we can deduce that successful consumer technology today has evolved to become more
aesthetic, honest, minimalistic, and less prone to accidents.
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