Steve Jobs: 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

User Experience:

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

Innovation:

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 "better horses"

• 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

Product Development:

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

By @felixleezd