The Real Thing

One of the best blogs I read is Design Observer, and an extra round of applause goes to the excellent writing of Michael Bierut. Recently, he discussed "The It Factor" and Owen Edwards' book Quintessence:

"You know it when you see it. There's the iPod, and there are all those other MP3 players; there's the Louisville Slugger, and there are all those other baseball bats. As you've probably heard, Steve Jobs unveiled a long-awaited product last week; he intends to reduce the competition to nothing more than all those other phones.

What makes something the real thing? It's more than functionality, popularity, or beauty..."

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