Part 2: How Apple is Proving that Less is More

In part one of this article we took a quick peek at how Apple looked on the web during the late 90’s and at the turn of the century. As you’ll see in part two, the KISS rule is certainly in effect at Apple.

So, a lot happened in 4 years since 2002, but you wouldn’t really know it from first glance at the Apple website (and that’s not a bad thing). In case you haven’t heard, those little mp3 players that Steve Jobs peddled as the future of music… well, it turns out that they kind of caught on. Apple sold like a couple kajillion or so.

But as the website continues to maintain the status quo, the product line keeps growing with the Macbook Pro and 30-inch Cinema Displays, all pushed by a brilliant marketing campaign that has devoured mainstream media from TV to radio to web: the Mac vs. PC ads. You remember the ones, with the uptight Microsoft corporate hack bantering with that kid who could barely keep up with a 50 year old John McClane in Live Free or Die Hard. The Mac vs. PC ads were widely popular and ran from 2006 to 2010 and no doubt helped Apple sell a few extra Macs.

Skip ahead 5 more years and you can’t even swing a sack of Palm Pilots without hitting someone with an Apple product. In fact, they’re probably so fixated on Angry Birds that they won’t even see it coming. So surely we’re due for the next great website redesign right? Not so fast Mr. Sulu…

And there she be… a sleek new menu and an even bigger showcase area for the newest product. There’s no question that Apple knows how to pimp their products. You’ll notice, though, that besides small tinkering like adopting a 1024×768 standard and other small graphical updates, the Apple website has kept pretty much the exact same layout for the past 10 years with a menu on top, a few badges on the bottom for various newsworthy items and a big honkin’ spot to plaster the newest and greatest product that will have you throwing your underwear on stage during Steve Jobs’ next keynote speech like you were at a Tom Jones concert.

So keep in mind that although it’s good to keep your brand fresh and in the spotlight, it doesn’t necessarily mean that you need to redesign yourself or your website every 6 months. Sometimes less is more and having a reliable identity that stands firm goes a long way in establishing your business. A company that can’t decide what it should be doesn’t leave a reassuring feeling to its customers. And hey, if you can take over the world while you’re at it… Bonus!

If you’re sick of trying to find your lasting identity, contact Point Click Media.