The Secret Apple University: Art and Technology, Picasso vs Apple

Introduction : Designers in the product design efforts to keep Jane, just as Picasso in painting to abandon unnecessary details. The secret of Apple's university is that it tries to guide its employees into thinking and to encourage them to discover the allure of technology.

Yes, Apple is probably the only technology company in the world that dares to compare itself to Picasso.

In the legendary "Apple University", a training course in Apple's in-house training program, the lecturer took 11 drafts of the Picasso "Ox" as an example of the design process for Apple's iPhone and other products. It is easy to see what they are all about: Apple designers are trying to keep Jane in their product designs, as Picasso rejects unnecessary details as he paints.

Apple stubbornly believes that the function and shape of the product must be based on elegance and simplicity. in the Apple class, the lecturer interprets the process of cobwebs an idea and finally approaches the core from an artistic point of view.

Apple's products in our hands have experienced this process almost before the birth, and the Apple Mouse is an excellent example.

Apple was originally founded by Steve Jobs to spread the company's culture and history to Apple employees. Today's technology industry is changing rapidly, Apple has never stopped the pace of rapid development, at this time the company culture is very important. Apple does not force employees to attend lectures, only recommend courses to them, but employees are enthusiastic about it, and the course has never lacked popularity.

While many companies have similar in-house training programs, Apple's differences lie in its efforts to guide its employees to think and to encourage them to discover the allure of technology.

Apple does not want employees to talk about the company's internal events in public, and Apple's University is of course included. Little is known about Apple's in-house training courses, and only a few words were mentioned in the "Jobs biography" written by Walter Isaacson. We've never seen the photos come out, and an Apple spokeswoman said they don't want the instructor to be interviewed.

But--well, it's all there, but. Three employees who had been trained at Apple University agreed to be interviewed by The New York Times on the premise that they were not named (poof). In their eyes, Apple University and Apple product same strain: its image in front of the world is perfect, people only know that it looks good, but do not know how many people behind the effort and sweat.

One employee said:

Even toilet paper is like artwork.

Unlike companies that like to roll out public classes, Apple prefers private training courses. Apple's faculty is rich: some of the lecturers have their own careers, such as writers, editors or university professors, and many are from prestigious universities in the United States, including Yale, Harvard, and Stanford.

Apple University is responsible for the former Yale Business school Dean Joel Podolny. When Apple was founded in 2008, Jobs chose him until today Podolny as Project director.

On Apple's internal Web site, employees can enroll in different courses based on their positions and backgrounds, and Apple will occasionally launch special courses. For example, one course is dedicated to the founders of Apple's acquisition of startups, leading them to use the resources and technologies they have previously accumulated in Apple products. The company may also offer a course specifically for Beats employees, Beats founder Dr. Dre and Jimmy Iovine may also be involved. Neither Apple nor Beats, of course, has disclosed the news.

Some of the courses focus on case studies, and the college analysis is based on the big decisions Apple makes in the development process, including getting iPod and ITunes to the Microsoft Windows System. At the time, the decision sparked a heated debate within Apple, and Mr Jobs was very conflicted, but he eventually opted for acquiescence. It turns out that the decision was correct: working with Windows has not only dramatically increased the number of ipods and ITunes Store users, but also contributed to the success of the IPhone.

Apple's headquarters has a building called City Center, where the University of Apple course is held. The classrooms and courses are carefully arranged, not only with good lighting, but also with a trapezoidal structure, similar to a ladder-shaped classroom in the university, and the staff at the back can clearly see the course content. Not only does Apple's staff enjoy the benefits of participating in the training program, but sometimes lecturers will also be taught at Apple's various overseas departments, and the Chinese region is of course ranked among them.

Randy Nelson comes from the famous Fox animation studio, a lecturer in the "Internal Exchange" course at Apple University. There is no limit to the level of employee participation, and the main teaching is how to communicate efficiently, including not only how to intuitively visualize the product design, but also how to share ideas among team members and how to do marketing for the product.

In last year's course, Nelson showed his employees the "Bull" of Picasso. It was in 1945 that Picasso made 11 drafts of the ox for nearly one months. The body structure of the cow can be seen in the earliest paintings, but the details are watered down, and the final version is just a graphic of the line. But there is no doubt that it is a cow.

One employee recalled:

By looking at these paintings you will understand that the process of conveying information can be more concise. It's not just about Apple products, it's what we do in life.

In Nelson's other "What made Apple" course, he showed employees a picture of a Google TV remote control with up to 78 keys. In contrast, he took out another picture of an Apple TV remote-just a thin metal device with only three keys.

How did Apple designers decide to end up with three keys left? Nelson explained that at first the team had countless idea, but after constant discussion and subtraction, the last button left only the most basic function-one for playing and pausing the video, one for selecting what to see, and one for "back to the main menu."

By contrast, the Google TV remote is a downright failure design. It has so many keys because the engineers and designers involved in the project have different needs, but the Apple design team is focused on the essence and covers its full functionality with just three keys.

There is a course called "Quality of Life", and its name stems from the view of Steve Jobs that employees should experience the best design in their lives, work with the most creative employees, use the best tools, and be inspired and nurtured to inspire the best.

Stanford University Professor Joshua Cohen is one of the lecturers in this course. He used the design of Central Park in New York as an example: The park's predecessor was a rocky swamp, but the designers wanted to make it a suitable area for the public to enjoy the feeling of "approaching nature". In the end, Central Park became one of the hallmarks of New York.

This is in the same way as Steve Jobs's philosophy: making complex computer technology simple and easy to understand, the process does not need to be deliberate, and users can do it naturally.

Ben Bajarin, a leading analyst, says Apple will become increasingly important as Apple continues to grow.

As you study Apple's journey, you will see its unique culture-Apple employees believe that they are making the world's best products that will change people's lives in the future. Apple culture is deeply rooted in the hearts of employees, as the company gradually developed, its role is increasingly valuable. This is what the University of Apple means.