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In an interview with Sir Jonathan Ive, Apple's former chief design officer, he mentioned that Apple had not conducted consumer focus groups, market research, etc., and stated that Apple knows the future possibilities better than its consumers. This made me think about the famous quote from Henry Ford: "If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses."

Now this quote is often used to show how people have no idea what they want, e.g. Listen to the people who want another horse, this is so old fashioned.

Not correct.

People wanted to go faster, they just didn't know how.

As designers, strategists or whatever we want to call ourselves, it's easy to believe that we are the experts and we know best. However, speaking to people can give you a good idea of ​​what they want. Not what they specifically want, but in terms of their real desires. It's up to us to understand what people really want as an end goal, not just use their ideas to get there, but rather use our knowledge and experience to find ways to achieve what they want, in a way they may never have considered.

It's up to us to listen to people's desire to go faster and find a way to do that, rather than just give them another horse.

Contributing to Branding Strategy Insider by: Paul Bailey, Director of Strategy at Halo – a brand new agency in the UK.

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