There is a lot of ballyhoo about the cult of the designer.

The "process" of designing is in some sort of vogue - and has been for many years now - and nowhere is it more apparent than in product design.

It is not enough for this or that designer to show us something well designed, we want to hear the story of how it was designed, the drama, the tension, and the courageous souls who always believed in the product. The audience is clamouring to understand the nuances behind the market research, the anthropological reasoning, the focus groups.

I've read two great articles recently, both in wired, about separate devices, the ipod and the RAZR, and how they were developed and designed. It was devestatingly interesting. And, and this is weird, it made me want to buy the devices even more. Or buy another one of each. The story of its construction made me a believer in it and a fan.

Motorola gets ahead of the curve this time by putting out the design STORY before the acutal product is released.

Take a look and see if you were as impressed as I am. I am glad they told me the story, I would buy one of these in an instant.

http://direct.motorola.com/hellomoto/motofone/experience/experience/index.html