The Height of Design

the Item: Original iPod introduced on October 23rd, 2001 the Why: hoW Does It InspIre you anD your Work?

The iPod was one of the innovations that ushered in a tidal wave of advancement in technology, that led us to where we are today; technology enabled lives. The original iPod had 5GB of storage or 1000 songs, which at the time was the most songs one could have on a digital device. Today, we take for granted our ability to use our iPhone (storage capacity 521GB) or other mobile device to order an Uber, get a pizza delivered, check emails, social media, play games, watch the latest Netflix programme and, still, listen to music. As designers we are at our best when we use our creative minds to envision and advance society. The iPod is just that: a well-designed, intuitive and beautifully functional product that advanced society. It heralded a new era that valued design in products and spaces.

I started working with Apple a couple years after the launch of the iPod so had the good fortune to have a front row seat, see the innovation there first hand. It was incredibly inspirational to learn from Apple to ‘think different’, strive for excellence no matter the circumstances and make the complex simple and intuitive.

What Do you thInk has Been the Impact?

Burry has transformed the interiors of many of the world’s most innovative brands, including Apple, Samsung, Gallo and Dolby, and his creative and contemporary approach to design has earned him more than 60 design awards. gensLer.com the personaL connectIon:

I believe it got society excited about the potential technology offered the average person. It also made us more comfortable with tech enabled devices, that led to almost 20 years of increased connection, productivity and innovation. Some may wish to go back to a time before advancements in technology, but imagine your world without your mobile device.

I was super excited when I bought my first iPod. I thought I was pretty cool running around the gym and city with my white (wired) headphones.

Immediately following the pandemic, most organisations didn’t know what to do with their workplace so didn’t do anything. The predictable patterns that had sustained office design and fit-out for decades had been shredded. Roll forward to 2023, and most organisations still don’t know what to do with their workplace but are now doing something anyway.

Most workplace projects once followed a similar threephase course, with varying degrees of overlap: strategy, design and delivery. The strategy phase was sometimes performed by the designers who sometimes delivered it, too. Sometimes it was undertaken by independent specialists. But the vital thing was, it was undertaken.

The process: interviews with key stakeholders, workshops with staff, utilisation study and satisfaction survey. Outputs: a report saying how amazing the organisation is and that it needs a space for innovation, collaboration and creativity, proposing a move to agile working with a wide range of secondary settings.

It was a golden age for workplace strategy. The trends were so ubiquitous and agreeable, it was a no-lose activity. If the workplace scheme didn’t quite deliver as hoped, it was a problem with the interpretation or execution, or it was down to unforeseen factors. It was fun, too – it wasn’t required to ask the difficult questions likely to reveal fault lines in the organisation. ‘Warts and all’ was rarely part of the brief.