A client told me the product should feel more like Apple.

Three weeks into the project, end of a design review. Not hostile, just considered. He had clearly been sitting on it.

My instinct was to push back. Different language, different philosophy, the comparison is not useful. I did not do that.

Instead I asked: when a user lands on this screen, what do you want them to feel?

He said: safe. Like they are in good hands.

That is not an Apple problem. That is a trust problem, and trust problems have specific causes. The screens had too many options visible at once, every choice competing for attention as if it were equally valid. We restructured the hierarchy so the product had a clear point of view on what to do next.

Three weeks later a usability participant used the word "reassuring." The client never mentioned Apple again.

Next time a client names a reference, ask what they want the user to feel before you touch the visual system.

More on this in this week's issue of Design is Dead. Link in the comments.