You've probably never heard of Bob Baxley, but he's one of the most important voices in understanding what actually makes Apple great. Although there are many Apple design giants, Bob is the only one I have heard clearly articulate the power of Steve Jobs.

Design as Philosophy, Not Decoration

Most people think Apple design is about minimalism and aesthetics. Bob says that's just the surface. The real work is philosophical.

"Design's more like liberal arts or philosophy... it's like what do we try to achieve at a much lower level. When we can get organizational alignment around what we want to do philosophically—why do we exist, what's the vision for the company—that's when design really works."

Good design starts with understanding why you're building something, not just making it look nice.

Tenets vs. Principles: The Decision-Making Difference

Bob points out that design principles like "simple" and "fast" are meaningless. No one argues for making things complicated and slow. These principles don't help you make decisions.

Tenets are different. They're opinionated stances that force you to choose between real tradeoffs.

The Keynote Story

When the team at Apple was starting work on Keynote, the lead developer asked Steve Jobs how they should think about it. Steve gave him three tenets:

  1. It should be difficult to make ugly presentations
  2. Focus on cinematic-quality transitions
  3. Optimize for innovation over PowerPoint compatibility

The third tenet ended years of potential debate. Instead of endless meetings about PowerPoint compatibility, the decision was made upfront.

The Primal Mark: Why AI Tools Can Be Dangerous

Bob talks about the "primal mark"—a concept from art. It's the first mark on a canvas. Everything else responds to that initial mark.

This is why he suggests waiting before creating visuals:

"As soon as we drew a picture that looked even remotely real, everybody gravitated towards that and said 'Oh that's the thing.' People were so uncomfortable with ambiguity that they can't really deal with the tension of 'Well that might not be the thing.'"

The AI Prototyping Problem

With AI tools, you can generate working prototypes in seconds. Bob sees a risk here:

"Once you know what you want and you can give it a really robust prompt, then... presumably it's really useful at cranking out an actionable prototype. But that's a production tool, not a thinking tool."

AI-generated prototypes can lock in ideas before you've thought them through. Once the team sees something that looks real, it becomes hard to explore other directions.

Use AI for production after you've done the conceptual work. Don't let it do your thinking for you.

Why Philosophy Matters for Products

Bob notes that most PMs and engineers are uncomfortable with philosophical discussions. They want concrete next steps. But great products often come from those abstract conversations about purpose and vision.

He recommends "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" to product teams. The book explores how quality emerges when things work together as a coherent whole.

Building Products vs. Building Companies

When asked about his favorite product, Steve Jobs listed the Apple II, Mac, iPod, iPhone, and retail stores. Then he added: "Apple itself."

The company is the ultimate product. Everything else follows.

Practical Takeaways

Bob suggests watching for debates that keep recurring in your team:

  1. Identify recurring debates - What decisions keep coming up?
  2. Make it once - Have the philosophical discussion, make the call
  3. Codify it as a tenet - Write it down, make it official
  4. Move forward - Stop relitigating, start building