In the typical life-cycle of a product or industry, function always leads form. In the beginning, being able to do something new is itself the most important thing. That's where the value is. However, once that functionality growth reaches a peak, the value shifts, and form begins to matter more.
Early computers had masochistic user interfaces (just think about the origins of that term for a minute), but no one cared. They allowed you to do things you couldn't do before.
Nowadays, the ability to compute is a commodity. You don't need the fastest processor or the biggest hard drive anymore. It is the form, the aesthetic experience of using a computer that is the differentiator.
So it is with every industry, from cars to coffee.
Where is your industry on the Form-Function curve?