1. Constantly improving products
2. New products
3. High margins
4. Best spokesman
5. Luck
6. Distribution
7. The apps store
8. Music and movies
9. Marketing
10. Product design

I agree with their points, Apple has demonstrated their excellence in these areas. But the question of why, to me, goes a bit deeper. After all, Apple is just a computer company. They make towers, laptops, mini-laptops, tablets, and pocket-computers that sometimes make phone calls. What makes them different, why they are successful, is simple: consistency.

Apple makes sure that everything they do is an expression of their values: innovation, simplicity, design, and passion. They are consistent. Each part of MSNBC’s list is simply a result of their core values. Looking at the list you can begin to see what values each tangible item (Luck is just that, luck) expresses: The apps store from innovation and simplicity, product design from simplicity and design, new products from passion and innovation, and marketing from passion and simplicity.

In fact, here’s a list of bad advice that Apple has received and ignored while staying true to their beliefs, leading to their current success. (Credit to Gizmodo.com)

The question of “Why” is the most important question a company can ask itself. Why are they doing what they are doing? Is it purely for money? Or do they want to be leaders in the industry? Maybe they want to add their own twist to an existing technology or service? What really matters, and what Apple has done beautifully, is defining one’s values and sticking to them. The natural result will be consistency which will therefore build reputation, trust, and brand recognition with customers.

Leave me your thoughts about the subject. What other companies do a great job of answering their “Why” question? How do they express it? What are some that don’t do so well? Any related thoughts are welcome and I’d love to hear them!

Below are photos of a select few pages. A full PDF version is available by request.

Final design

Notes

Sketching

Applied

Final design

Notes

Sketching

First off, what is synesthesia? Here’s what ScientificAmerican.com has to say about it:

Synesthesia is an anomalous blending of the senses in which the stimulation of one modality simultaneously produces sensation in a different modality. Synesthetes hear colors, feel sounds and taste shapes.

I have color-grapheme synesthesia which is when a person sees colors for letters and numbers, and another type (Unsuccessful so far in finding the official name for it) that causes me to see colors and shapes for different sounds. To start, here’s my own alphabet and number system as they appear in my head:

Certain numbers cause me problems when trying to recall an address or phone number from memory. I often confuse 4 and 6, and 3, 5, and 7 because they look about the same to me in my head. Fortunately it hasn’t caused any problems with making appointments, I always have those written down!

Influence in design

One of my favorite parts of the design process is the brainstorming and sketching stage. It’s during this stage that I let my brain loose and I doodle any idea that comes to me. Oftentimes I’ll start with the obvious things to get them out of the way, but after an hour or so my drawings start getting a bit more interesting.

Security.

Say a client wants their logo to express sophistication, confidence, and elegance. These three concepts produce three very different images and colors in my mind, so it helps me to visualize those shapes and analyze what characteristics they have to get me started:

Sometimes the colors I see for a concept might not be the best fit for the client. The word “confidence” forms a palette of warm colors, with orange and yellow being the dominant hues. But in western society, orange often represents silliness, creativity, spring, or warmth. Depending on what industry the logo is for, orange and yellow may not be the right colors to represent “confidence”. At that point, I’ll switch to other methods to choose the right color for the brand.

It wasn’t until when I was around 15 that I picked up on the other part of my synesthesia.

Influence in music

Here is where things get really weird for me. I see the most colors and abstract shapes bouncing around in my brain when I’m either listening to or playing music. As a musician, I often write music based on what color scheme I want to see for a certain part of a song. If I want a song to start off with a blue color scheme, I’ll focus on a minor scale. If I want a warmer color palette, I’ll move into some major chords with some 7ths (orange) and 9ths (pink) on top.

In some sense, writing music is a form of painting for me. My guitar is my paintbrush and the empty air is my canvas. Listening to sounds provides similar images in my mind, here is a drumkit:

Starting from the bottom, the above image depicts the kick drum, snare, toms, and cymbals if they were to sound all at once. Listening to music is more than an auditory experience for me, and that’s why it is one of my favorite past times. Every song has it’s own palette of colors that change and bubble around as the song progresses. Dynamic bands that move between genres and instruments are the most interesting to me because they create the most exciting sensory experience, it’s more fun to me to have a song move from red to forest green to yellow and pinks than to listen to a static song that stays orange the entire time.

Summary

That’s my basic, everyday synesthetic experience. I’ve had it my entire life and I thought it was normal until high school when I brought it up in art class. To my surprise the response was blank stares and a lot of questions. But like I said before, I wouldn’t have it any other way. Each moment of my daily life is colored through this amazing condition, and to be able to use it for my creative passions is an ability I feel very fortunate to have.

If you would like to ask any questions about it, or if you have any of your own experiences, I would love to hear from you in the comments below. Do you have synesthesia and use it for something creative? What do you see when you think of your favorite music? What color is your number 6?