[Sigia-l] Design: Dictatorship or democracy?

[Ziya Oz]

Cordell Ratzlaff, Esslinger's former colleague at Frog Design‹a firm known
for recruiting ex-Apple designers‹agrees. "Great design comes from
dictators, not democracies," says Ratzlaff, who managed Apple's Human
Interface Group in the 1990s and who now works as Director of User-Centered
Design for Cisco. "Democracy works well for running a country and choosing a
prom queen. The best product designs, however, come from someone with a
singular strong vision and the fortitude to fend off everything and everyone
that would compromise it." In other words, success can often come down to
instinct and taste‹bad news for those after a more tangible, quantitative,
metrics-driven approach.

<http://www.businessweek.com/innovate/content/jun2007/id20070627_004206.htm>

"Instinct and taste"? What, no white lab coats, best practices, research
papers, eye tracking, alertbox threat levels...? Shocking.

Ziya
Nullius in Verba