Apple Online Store“Over the past five years, Apple Inc. has amazingly transformed from a niche computer maker to a global consumer electronics powerhouse armed with one of the world’s most powerful brands,” Mark Evans reports for The Globe and Mail. “While Apple and its visionary chief executive, Steve Jobs, are basking in the success of products such as the iPhone, iPod and MacBook, the company’s biggest success may be its leading role in thrusting design into the spotlight.”

“Once viewed by many as a frill or afterthought, design is now being enthusiastically embraced as a key ingredient in how products and services are developed and, as important, how people use and interact with them,” Evans reports. “‘Apple has done a lot to bring design out of the studio as it were and into the boardroom,” says David Becker, president of PhilippeBecker, a branding and packaging design agency based in San Francisco.”

“Apple’s impact on design extends far beyond the world of computers or mobile devices. Its influence can be seen in everything from website design and software development to typography, consumer products and even toothbrushes,” Evans reports. “In many respects, Apple’s philosophical approach has established a benchmark for designers around the world, regardless of industry. When they talk about Apple, they use terms such as simplicity, elegance and restraint.”

Full article here.

[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader "Dow C." for the heads up.]