( CNN ) -- For most designers , good design is neither just a well-functioning object nor a good-looking object , but rather both . I say both , as the simultaneity is crucial so that function and appearance support each other and , when done well , in a sense become indistinguishable . In designing products , we consider these two attributes -- along with other factors such as budget , material capability and consumer response -- and add them to the mixture that constitutes design . What Steve Jobs did was to add yet another element : innovative marketing . Have you ever been in an Apple Store that is n't packed with people `` just browsing ? '' They are there to soak up whatever Apple is and does . Who would ever have thought that bulky , wooden Parsons tables would be enough ? But you can bet on one thing : Jobs did not go to market research groups to find the answer . He knew that all each store would need , beyond its terrific merchandise , were bare essentials . Think about it : He did n't need flashing neon , he did n't need hip tunes blaring so that you could n't hear each other , he did n't need wild colors or expensive materials . He simply needed a clean space with a sales force of people , each wearing an Apple T-shirt . I gasp whenever I see , in a newspaper or magazine , a new restaurant where the designer has opted for outrage in his or her need to be the next cutting-edge idea , forgetting that the customer might just want a good place to eat with friends . I imagine that Jobs would not have had a hand in that type of scenario . He might simply have said , `` It 's not that difficult . After all , it 's just about dinner . '' Share your memories of Steve Jobs . Designers often neglect the essence of innovation when they are overwhelmed with the requirements of the product they are designing . The Apple Store design , the product design , the hardware design and software design all come down to innovation -- something not tried before . I am reminded of an apocryphal story about Pablo Picasso . Two frumpy ladies were standing in front of a cubist portrait of Gertrude Stein , or at least the label said `` Gertrude Stein . '' One woman turned to her friend and said , `` It does n't look like Gertrude Stein . '' Whereupon Picasso , who happened to be standing behind them , said in a prophetic tone , `` It will . '' In a commencement address to Stanford University graduates that 's been widely televised since his death , Jobs revealed something about himself that I , too , have felt intensely since I suffered paralysis . Of course , being aware that his illness would limit his time , he said that he wanted every day to be spent making a contribution . One imagines that Jobs , given how much he loved doing what he did , wanted to leave this world exhausted from his passion for his life 's work , for that 's all that would give him rest . The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Michael Graves .
Designer Michael Graves says that Jobs brought attention to the designer 's tool kit . He says Jobs recognized clean , well - staffed stores were all that was needed to show products . Jobs was aware illness would limit his time , wanted each day to be a contribution , he says . Graves : Jobs had to leave this world exhausted from his passion for his life 's work .