October 4, 2012 | 47 notes

Why Polaroid Inspired Both Steve Jobs and Andy Warhol Smithsonian: Your description of Edwin Land was reminiscent of Steve Jobs. In terms of innovation and design, was Polaroid the Apple of its day? Chris Bonanos: Land and Jobs were both just obsessed with making a product perfect. They both worked like crazy. They both really believed in locating a company at the spot where science and technology meet fine arts. And maybe most important of all they both felt that if you make a fantastic product that the world has never seen before, then the marketing and selling will take care of itself. Land once said, “Marketing is what you do if your product is no good.” Thirty years later they asked Jobs how much market research he was doing on whatever the Apple product was at the moment and he said, “We didn’t do any. None. It’s not the consumer’s job to know what he wants.” It’s the same philosophy. Land was one of Jobs’ first heroes and they met a few times in Cambridge. - Continue reading at Smithsonian.com. Photo: Jessie Barber Ed note: Seven famous photographers who used Polaroids.

Why Polaroid Inspired Both Steve Jobs and Andy Warhol

Smithsonian: Your description of Edwin Land was reminiscent of Steve Jobs. In terms of innovation and design, was Polaroid the Apple of its day?

Chris Bonanos: Land and Jobs were both just obsessed with making a product perfect. They both worked like crazy. They both really believed in locating a company at the spot where science and technology meet fine arts. And maybe most important of all they both felt that if you make a fantastic product that the world has never seen before, then the marketing and selling will take care of itself. Land once said, “Marketing is what you do if your product is no good.”

Thirty years later they asked Jobs how much market research he was doing on whatever the Apple product was at the moment and he said, “We didn’t do any. None. It’s not the consumer’s job to know what he wants.” It’s the same philosophy. Land was one of Jobs’ first heroes and they met a few times in Cambridge. - Continue reading at Smithsonian.com.

Photo: Jessie Barber

Ed note: Seven famous photographers who used Polaroids.