How to Design Insanely Great Products

Design Philosophy

Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.

If users need a manual, the design has failed.

Eliminate unnecessary buttons, features, and complexity.

Focus on making the product intuitive and obvious to use.

Question everything about the current design.

Challenge every assumption about how things "should" be.

Think different—break from conventional wisdom when necessary.

Start with the user experience, then work backwards to the technology.

Design is not just how it looks, but how it works.

Every interaction should feel magical and delightful.

The best interface is no interface—make technology invisible.

Perfection in details matters.

Obsess over every pixel, every corner, every transition.

The parts you can't see should be as beautiful as the parts you can.

Quality must go all the way through.

Create products people don't know they need yet.

Don't rely on market research—show people the future.

If you ask customers what they want, they'll say "a better horse."

True innovation means seeing what others can't see.

Integration of hardware and software.

Great experiences come from controlling the entire stack.

Everything must work together seamlessly.

Don't compromise the vision by relying on others' components.

Say no to 1,000 things.

Focus is about saying no to good ideas.

Do a few things exceptionally well rather than many things adequately.

Kill projects that don't meet the highest standards.

Prototype and iterate.

Make real working models, not just drawings.

Keep refining until it feels absolutely right.

Don't be afraid to restart if it's not perfect.