Market Analysts and the Genius of Their Design
Reader warning: venting ahead.
This from a recent financial times article:
“Some analysts suggest Apple should launch an iPod Shuffle with an LCD screen. Others argue Apple ought to introduce iPods with new capabilities and functions, such as a handheld computer, satellite radio, wireless e-mail capability and a phone.”
This kills me. It really does. In every market analysis I read from the Financial Times to the Wall Street Journal there’s generally a decent amount of actual analysis. The market is showing trends towards increasing. Such-and-such a company has gained market share over last quarter. Good. This is what analysts are good at, this is what they do.
Yet, inevitably, at the end of the articles, the analysts miraculously become designers! The iPod should be wireless! The Tivo should have more buttons! Google should add more advertising in its search results! Not only do these guys have NO idea how to design or doing anything other than feature scream, their ideas are always wrong. If you go back just a few years and look at what analysists say about a particular product and what features they would add, the companies almost never follow their lead.
So shut up, analysts! Let the designers do their jobs.