As hard as it is to write this, I think it’s time we broke up. It’s time for us to move on.
Our relationship goes back a good 25 years. And I’ll admit, in the early days it felt exciting,
… we were cool
… both underdogs.
You, the plucky upstart fighting for your survival against the tech giants. Us … a ragged band of young designers getting to grips with the new world of digital publishing. We were meant for each other. A perfect fit, like Torvill & Dean, Fish & Chips, Rain & British Bank Holidays.
Then things really took off.
Remember the glory days? Remember when every year you’d release products we never realised we needed, and then could never imagine living without? Remember when Jonathan Ive was a design God? Remember how cool you looked?
Of course we worshipped at your altar; you had the most groundbreaking designs in town.
But lately, it feels like our relationship has gone stale. It feels like you’re taking more than you’re giving.
Let me spell it out for you.
Ten years is a long time to remain stagnant. Where’s the new iMac, iPod, iPad, iPhone? Where’s the innovation?
It’s nothing to be ashamed of. Name a musician, company or product that stayed as cool and relevant for as long as you. Elvis? Atari? CDs? I don’t think so.
Let’s face it, we’re designers, we thirst for innovation, it’s in our DNA. If you’re all out of ideas, where’s the future in this relationship?
You used to be the Ferrari to PC’s Trabant.
Yes, you cost several months’ rent, but you worked, you were efficient, you were the only real option for getting the job done. We needed you.
But now? Now I can run Creative Suite off a PC. Now I look at a PC, and you know what, it scrubs up better than it used to, and I’m starting to question whether you really are worth that extra one and a half grand. Whether you’re actually bleeding me dry.
When was the last time we used another design tool?
It’s been so long that we’ve lost our belief that there is another way. We have accepted the status quo. We have metaphorically moved to the suburbs and settled down.
There must be other ways of doing things? Better ways of doing things?
Where did our sense of adventure go?
So there you have it. All the reasons in the world to move on. But will we do it? I don’t know. Maybe we are too comfortable in this relationship, sitting in our sweatpants, ordering takeaways.
There … I’ve said it.
