They employed a designer for the first G1 X. He stated:
“I was aiming for a simple, “professional’s tool” with no waste, and bare functionality. Since the PowerShot G7, the controls had been getting more complex, and I wanted to organise them, so I went after simple looks with functional beauty. […] The concept I pursued was one of authenticity, I wanted a camera that a professional would be proud to have among their equipment.”
It went down like a lead balloon. (Though some liked it. I thought it was the best-looking Canon in a long time.)
With the G1 X Mark II, Canon went back to old ideas. The PDF brochure about its development says, “the design is not pretentious”. No kidding! It’s downright homely.
But a strong design language may be counterproductive in this camera segment. The market is disproportionately old, conservative, male, and uninterested in design. Many potential customers interpret good design as snobbery.
Started out doing photography at the age of 6 using an uncle's old 1940 kodak brownie box camera. At 15 years of age, I decided to buy my very own 1975 Praktica SLR camera. I now shoot with a Nikon D850. I do unpaid TFP and commercial paid work.