Frog Design wades deep into China's industrial heartland

FROG Design, the design firm behind Apple's original Mac, has occupied a unique perch at the intersection where high technology meets high art. Inevitably, the ever-evolving technology landscape and the tilting balance of power between developed and emerging markets are transforming the way Frog operates.

This is perhaps best illustrated in China, where copycats run wild and technology forms an ecosystem unto itself. As it turns out, some of Frog's most memorable successes there can be attributed to an unconventional approach that defies traditional design aesthetics.

From its office in Shanghai, Frog has worked since 2007 with scores of Chinese companies, from tech titan Tencent to startups like Mobvoi and industry giants such as China Mobile, China Merchants Bank and Haier. The firm's trajectory has traversed comm…