The story is told that IBM’s focus on design has its roots in a stroll down Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue. Mr. Thomas Watson Jr. visited an Olivetti typewriter shop where the machines were showcased on sidewalk stands for passersby to try out. The machines had sleek designs and a variety of colors. Inside, the shop was bright and very modern looking. In contrast, the IBM’s offices back then were dimly lit, and dull and the computers were drab and boxy. The IBM headquarters lobby on Madison Avenue had been designed to please Thomas Watson Sr.’s old fashioned tastes and views. Thomas Watson Jr. wrote that it looked like a “first-class saloon on an ocean liner.” A few years later, as Watson Jr. was preparing to take over as IBM’s CEO, he decided that he could put his own stamp on IBM through modern design. At a lecture at the University of Pennsylvania in 1973, Watson Jr. declared that “good design is good business.”
So, think about good design when you are thinking about your business goals. We can work together to achieve your business goals with creative graphics and ideas from Regan Graphic Design. Contact us at your convenience and we can sit down to make you look better and help grow your business.
P.S. The IBM “Watson” Computer/AI system used on Jeopardy was named after Thomas Watson Sr.