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Why doesn't Apple.com have a tagline/About Us section that communicates what they do? That's a big usability violation.

The closest thing I've found to an "About Us" section is a "services" box in their store. It shows what they're doing for education, the environment, businesses, and people who want financing. But nowhere on the site do they explicitly state what they do.

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I'd say everyone already knows what they do. – DA01 Nov 3 '12 at 1:20
It's going to be immediately obvious what Apple does from the initial viewing of their homepage. I also suggest that you are treating 'guidelines' as being concrete requirements - which they are not. – Marko Nov 18 '12 at 17:39

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@Benny is right: they don't need a tagline because everybody who is reaching their site through a computer knows what they do.
Or, at least, they can afford not telling to those who don't.
It's an exhibition of power.

The purpose of the tagline is to convey a sense of what the site owner offers, in a time lapse of one to four seconds, so first-time users can decide to stay or not in the site.
It's a first-level fast filter.

By not displaying a tagline they are telling that they know that we know what they know,

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Thanks for better explaining the purpose of a tagline, Juan. The tagline acts as a filter to the first-time user. – Tyler Langan Nov 17 '12 at 3:48
There is an old alertbox by Jakob Nielsen (2001) that I still remember, which explains the concept very well. – Juan Lanus Nov 17 '12 at 15:23
up vote 8 down vote

No one outside Apple could answer this question properly - but I'll take a shot at it. Apple have decided that being one of the four most famous companies in the world - it isn't really necessary. Also it's quite obvious what they do if you browse their web page.

However, not being present on the start page doesn't mean it isn't there. On any subsite of apple.com there is a link in the bottom of the page labeled "Apple Info" leading to (you guessed it) http://www.apple.com/about/.

So it's present - but not on their start page.

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You're right, they do have an "about" section. I agree and would add that there's no tagline or communication about what they do. Their 'about' section has contact information and press releases, but doesn't actually say what the company does. – Tyler Langan Nov 2 '12 at 8:28
Scroll down on the page and there are about 50 links explaining what Apple is from different perspectives. If you want to see the taglines(slogans) take a look at en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Apple_Inc._slogans – Benny Skogberg Nov 2 '12 at 8:33
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"Tag lines might not be necessary when the company name itself explains what the company does, such as the Federal Highway Administration, or if the company is extremely famous, such as Microsoft." useit.com/homepageusability/guidelines.html I just answered my own question. Thanks for your input Benny. – Tyler Langan Nov 2 '12 at 8:38

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