The best way to transform a company’s product line from the inside out
is to lock 5 people in a room for three months
and tell them not to come out until they’ve redesigned the company.
Things I Started:
💌 Apple Webmail
🎁 Apple’s first gift card experience
🎵 iTunes Music Store
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Star ratings
🎛️ Mac OS X Dashboard
☁️ Cloud-based Storage (iDisk)
☁️ Cloud-based Services (iTools & .Mac)
🔖 .Mac Bookmarks
🎶 iTunes Producer
🎼 iTunes Essentials
🎸 Garageband
🎧 Playlist Sharing
🖥️ The digital lifestyle
Apple's Applications Design Team
Apple's Content Production Team
Things I Enjoy:
☕️ Great Cafe’s
⏭️ Figuring out what’s next
🗺️ Solving Wicked Design Problems
⛵️ Sailing
📷 Photography
🚶♂️ Long Walks
🌲 Forest Bathing
📴 Disconnecting
🪩 Dancing
Things I Can Help With:
💬 Application Design Feedback
🎓 Executive Design Leadership
📐 Executive Design Planning
🏗️ Building & Scaling a Design Organization
👥 Team Leadership
🚀 Startup Coaching
📈 Getting your Pitchdeck in Order
📖 Building your Brand Book
🎨 Design Language Guidance
⚙️ Design Systems Direction
🔍 Touchpoint Analysis
🛤️ User Journeys
🆕 Onboarding
🌐 Platform Strategies
🖼️ Presentation Design
During my unparalleled design journey at Apple, I held a cardinal position in forging the design language that now stands as a hallmark of the brand. Getting to work with my heroes, I was guided directly by luminaries like Steve Jobs and rigorously trained by CKS, immersing myself in Apple's core ethos, establishing a potent design philosophy still felt around the world.
Under my leadership, several key projects were brought to life:
Apple Webmail: In designing Apple's first webmail system, I aimed to create a user-friendly interface that aligned with the webAqua design system much of which was given meaning due to this project. My work contributed to evolving standards in the design of webmail systems.
Apple’s First Gift Card Experience: The design of Apple's first gift card experience offered a new way for people to purchase music in the retail environment. Spearheading out first pilot with target, we soon saw competitors following our lead by filling shelves with their own branded digital gift cards.
iTunes Music Store: In my role with the iTunes Music Store, I contributed to changing the way music was purchased and consumed digitally. This work helped streamline the music buying process and in many ways rescued a dying music industry.
Mac OS X Dashboard: In developing the Mac OS X Dashboard, I concentrated on crafting a space for at-a-glance widgets, a concept that later became foundational in shaping the form factor for single-use apps on the iPhone. This not only enriched the Mac platform experience but also foreshadowed a pivotal shift in app design and interaction across Apple's ecosystem still felt today.
Cloud-Based Storage: My work on the conception of iDisk involved exploring cloud storage solutions, anticipating the needs of online file storage and sharing. This service aimed to provide a secure and easy-to-use platform for Apple users.
Cloud-based Services: Leading the design of iTools and .Mac, I worked on integrating diverse cloud-based services into Apple's ecosystem. These efforts helped lay the foundation for MobileMe, iCloud and evolution of cloud computing.
Cloud-Based Bookmark Syncing: Developing .Mac Bookmarks, I led both design and interface engineering. This project gave people access to their bookmarks even when they were away from their Mac on a public computer.
iTunes Producer: In designing iTunes Producer, the aim was to make music distribution more straightforward for artists and labels. This tool was designed to be a painstakingly simple way for publishing music to the iTunes Music Store.
iTunes Essentials: While curating iTunes Essentials, I aimed to create a visual system to improve music discovery and listening experiences. This initiative involved understanding music trends and people's preferences.
Garageband: Extracting features from Logic Pro, Garageband was a project focused on making music production more accessible. The software was designed to be consumer-friendly, accommodating a range of skill levels and encouraging more people to engage in music creation.
Playlist Sharing: Introducing playlist sharing in Apple's music ecosystem, I sought to build a community of music enthusiasts. This feature was designed to enable users to share their musical tastes and explore new music, enriching how people interact with music.
Photo Album Publishing Tools in HomePage: Developing tools for digital photo albums in HomePage, I aimed to make the process of creating and sharing albums easy for everyone. This project harnessed digital photography trends to offer a simple approach to photo sharing.
The Digital Lifestyle: My work on integrating app-based features into daily life contributed to the concept of the digital lifestyle. This approach focused on creating a cohesive and familiar user experience across Apple's product range, influencing how people interact with their Macintosh.
With these exceptional opportunities to work with my heroes, today I channel my expertise into confronting and solving wicked design problems, especially those centered on social impact and meaningful change. My focus isn't merely to design; but to evoke change, to resonate with a socially responsible ethos. On this journey, I actively seek collaborations that mirror this aspiration, with a shared commitment towards improving upon the human condition.
Each company needs to have a clear understanding of the key emotional connectors that tie audience to product. My techniques have been proven to uncover connectors in order to inform a company’s overall business strategy while strengthening the ties between products, brands and audience for many breakthrough product experiences known to billions.
My approach to humanizing the design process begins with translating unmet customer needs into product strategy. Through synthesis I conduct research, design diagrams, and build prototypes. Exploring the connection between experience and meaning in an accessible manner allows me to shift thinking and focus on meaningful and connected strategies for products and services so that his design work may connect with people in a more visceral way by gathering audience data to gain insights into how people live their lives.
How to access my services:
If you are working on a project you feel deserves special attention and would be of particular interest to me. I have two different ways you can engage with me.
1:1 Video Consultations start at $225 — https://intro.co/darius
Monthly Subscription Packages are available through roses/foundation - https://roses.foundation/subscriptions
