2013.03.12 Now for the reckoning(2)

The stunning rise of Apple, whose late boss, Steve Jobs, made a fetish of design, has no doubt influenced Google’s thinking since then. The shift towards mobile computing has also forced it to take design more seriously. “There’s an emotional reaction with a personalised mobile device that you don’t get with a mouse and a keyboard,” explains Jon Wiley, a search designer who is part of an initiative to revamp Google’s design philosophy that was launched by Larry Page when he became chief executive in 2011.

苹果的惊世崛起无疑影响了谷歌的决策。苹果过世的老板史蒂夫-乔布斯就对设计推崇有加。计算机移动化的发展趋势也迫使谷歌对设计加以更多重视。“对于没有鼠标和键盘的个性化移动设备，很多人都有些情绪反应”，搜索设计师乔恩-威利如是说，他是一个旨在改造谷歌的设计理念的项目的成员，这个项目是由2011年上任谷歌行政总裁的拉里-佩奇发起的。

Among other things, this has produced a more consistent look and feel across everything from Google+, the firm’s social network, to Gmail, its e-mail service. It has also encouraged designers to be more vocal about their views in a firm where software engineers rule the roost. “Sometimes problems just have to be the responsibility of designers and not every engineer or product person is going to like it,” says Matias Duarte, the head of design for Android.

除此之外，这样也使得谷歌的所有产品，从社交网络Google+到邮件服务Gmail，都能拥有更统一的观感。同时也鼓励设计师们在这样一个软件工程师统治的企业中更畅所欲言。“有时提出问题就得是设计师的责任，并不是每个工程师或产品部的人都喜欢承担这种责任”，马迪安卓的首席设计师亚斯-杜阿尔特如是说。

Some sceptics reckon that Google has a long way to go before it can aspire to Apple-like excellence. “Consistency alone does not make for great design,” sniffs Jason Putorti, a designer who works for Causes, a web business that helps people mount online campaigns. Others point out that products such as Google Glass, prototype web-connected glasses that make wearers look like extras from a Terminator movie, are still badly in need of beautification (see picture).

一些怀疑者认为谷歌想要达到苹果的卓越设计仍有很长的路要走。以帮助人们组织网络运动为业务的网站Causes的设计师杰森-普托尔蒂就不屑地表示，“风格统一不代表设计得好”。其他人则指出“谷歌眼镜”这类产品的外观亟需美化（如图），这款尚处雏形的连接网络的眼镜让佩戴者看上去就像是《终结者》电影的临时演员。

True. But the fact remains that Google is getting better at design faster than Apple is mastering the kind of web services that have made its rival so successful. And the stock market has noticed.

（谷歌审美有待提高）这话没错。但事实上，谷歌在设计上的进步速度要快过苹果在这类网络服务领域的进步速度，而正是网络服务成就了苹果的竞争对手，并且股票市场注意到了这点。