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How You Can Apply the MAYA Principle in Your Everyday Design Work The lack of success for both Apple’s Newton tablet and Google Glass could be that they were too advanced for their users. So the question is, how do we learn to strike the right balance between the most advanced design and our users’ ability to accept our product? Maybe we need to take gradual steps before being ready to embrace this new technology. Maybe it’s because the whole concept of wearing glasses that both record everything we do – while augmenting what we see with a layer of information – is simply too advanced for us. There were several reasons that the Newton tablet did not become a success, but one of the main reasons could well be that the Newton tablet was introduced without users being familiar with a digital personal assistant.Ī more recent example is Google Glass which has not become the success it was anticipated to become. It was launched in 1993 and cancelled in 1998 as it was a financial disaster for Apple. Apple started developing the tablet in 1987. The Newton tablet was an early personal digital assistant and the first tablet platform developed by Apple. By applying the MAYA principle, the designers at Apple provided the users with the most advanced design within the boundaries of their acceptance. It is very likely that this gradual development from the first iPod in 2001 was what made the iPhone acceptable to users when it was launched in 2007. The iPod’s designers gradually pushed the product design further and further as the iPod gradually lost the extra buttons and got a more streamlined interface. The early iPod is a good example of how Apple applied the MAYA principle. Raymond Loewy surrounded by some of his iconic designs.Īuthor/Copyright holder: Unknown. "The adult public's taste is not necessarily ready to accept the logical solutions to their requirements if the solution implies too vast a departure from what they have been conditioned into accepting as the norm." Yet Acceptable.” which means that Loewy sought to give his users the most advanced design, but not more advanced than what they were able to accept and embrace. Maya is an abbreviation for “ Most Advanced. He called this approach the MAYA principle. He designed his famous logos, some of the most recognizable cars of the 40s, 50s, and 60s, refrigerators, and locomotives for his users’ present needs and skills while pushing the boundaries of design and technology beyond his users’ expectations. Loewy’s secret was essential to design for the future – but delivering the future gradually. Copyright terms and licence: All rights reservedĭesigns and drawings by Raymond Loewy who designed the Air Force One logo, the Coca-Cola bottle, the Shell Oil logo, the US Postal Service logo, and the Greyhound logo. If we don’t hit the right balance, our users won’t embrace nor buy our products, Loewy emphasized.Īuthor/Copyright holder: Raymond Loewy. Today, Loewy can still teach us to design our products with just the right balance between the well-known present, on one hand, and a new and innovative future on the other hand. The Air Force One logo, the Coca-Cola bottle, the Shell Oil logo, the US Postal Service logo, the Greyhound logo are just some of his impressive designs which still exist today. Why not learn from the best design experts with the most impressive track record? Raymond Loewy (1893-1986) is often referred to as the father of Industrial Design and his track record is indeed impressive. This is called the MAYA Principle and it’s the secret behind the industrial design of the Coca-Cola bottle, Shell Oil logo, and the Greyhound logo. Learn to design for the future, while balancing your design with your users’ present stage of skills and mindset.