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Apple's Jony Ive: 'We're surrounded by anonymous, poorly made objects'
In a rare interview, Apple's VP of Design offers at least a little insight into both his thinking and how Apple makes its products. Apparently, it all starts with Jonathan Ive imagining what a new kind of product should be and what it should do. After that, the process moves on to what it should look like. Inspiration here apparently comes from, well, everywhere, from candy manufacturers to metalworkers in Northern Japan. It's no surprise to hear that Ive labors over the details: "months and months and months" were spent on perfecting the iMac stand. "When you realize how well you can make something, falling short, whether seen or not, feels like failure." "We don't take so long, and make the way we make for fiscal reasons." More than any Apple product in particular, however, it's the idea that customers might not be completely driven by prices -- that's what he's most pleased with. "We're surrounded by anonymous, poorly made objects. It's tempting to think it's because the people who use them don't care - just like the people who make them." Ive references that life-changing products, unimaginable before, are expensive - and that's part of the Apple premium. "We don't take so long, and make the way we make, for fiscal reasons."
Bloomberg: Jony Ive said to be considering 'more dramatic' changes to email and calendar amid iOS 7 overhaul
It's hardly been a secret that Apple's Jony Ive is exploring some more radical changes to iOS since taking the design reins for software in addition to hardware, but Bloomberg is now reporting some new details that paint a better picture of just what's going on in the lead-up to iOS 7. As previously reported, that includes what's sure to be iOS' biggest visual overhaul to date, with a decidedly more flat and minimalist design replacing Apple's current skeuomorphic tendencies. What's more, Bloomberg is also reporting that Ive is exploring "more dramatic changes" to the e-mail and calendar apps, and that he's "methodically" reviewing all the new designs himself to avoid a repeat of the Maps fiasco. Also as previously rumoured, Bloomberg reports that Apple is pulling people from the Mac team to work on iOS in order to get it done in time, and that Ive has been encouraging collaboration between the software and hardware teams -- which, as Bloomberg notes, have previously been operating in separate silos. That all comes as Apple is apparently pushing things closer to the deadline than usual; while Bloomberg reports that iOS 7 is still on track for a release "as soon as September," internal testing dates are reportedly being set later than they have in the past, and the sweeping changes Ive has embarked on are said to have put Apple "at risk of falling behind." Of course, Apple does have one upcoming date that's now set in stone: WWDC on June 10th, when it has already promised to show off new versions of both iOS and OS X. Update: All Things D is now offering its own confirmation of much of what Bloomberg is reporting, and quotes one source who describes iOS 7's new look as "de-glitzed."
Apple's Sir Ive honored with BBC kids TV's greatest honor, the gold Blue Peter badge (video)
Knighthood, schmighthood. Apple's British design head has just picked up a golden Blue Peter badge. The show, which has been running on UK TV for over 50 years, even had their gift reciprocated, with Sir Jonathan Ive offering up a solid aluminum Blue Peter badge (above) that took over 10 hours to craft. Ive can count himself in good company, joining other luminaries like JK Rowling and David Beckham. The segment will air during a gadget special tomorrow, but you can watch the exchange between kids TV and Apple design right after the break.
Mega-iPad prototypes revealed in Jony Ive's 2011 deposition now in color
Hefty. Ample. Zaftig. An iPod hit with an Engorgio Charm. Pick your adjective and go with it, because this honest-to-Ive iPad prototype was just plain big. It looked like a chopped-off MacBook's top half, but it probably wouldn't have seemed out of place on Batman's bedside table. How did this early design concept (circa 2002-2004!) for an Apple tablet come to light? As Kelly relayed earlier, NetworkWorld's Yoni Heisler did some clever digging into recently unsealed depositions in Apple v. Samsung. Lawyers for Samsung interviewed Apple's design chief Jonathan Ive in December of 2011, and asked him to confirm that the photos introduced into evidence of the "035" prototype were legitimate, Apple-created artifacts. Ive testified that they were, and now that the testimony has been unsealed Heisler was able to find and publish black-and-white photos of the device. BuzzFeed's Matt Buchanan & Michael Phillips have now unearthed color versions of the prototype pictures; they highlight the device's amputated-MacBook-screen affect even more strongly. In fact, the unit bears some resemblance to the Axiotron Modbook, which repurposed the plastic-case MacBook into a tablet form factor; minus the ports, of course, and probably somewhat lighter had it ever gone into production. Seeing the prototype side by side with the produced iPad, it's sobering to think about how long Apple's designers and engineers worked toward refining, improving and slenderizing the tablet concept. Of course, before the iPad itself ever saw the light of day, the technologies and software involved snuck out the door in smaller form.
Exhibition of Apple design debuts in German museum
During the Steve Jobs II era at Apple, the company's product priorities focused on ease of use, delighting and surprising the customer, and of course the incredible design aesthetic that we all know and love. That design philosophy has been championed and executed by the industrial design team led by senior vice president Jonathan Ive, and it is Ive's work with Apple that is the topic of a new exhibition in Hamburg, Germany at the Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe (Arts and Crafts). Stylectrical: On Electro-Design That Makes History aims to take a close look at "the complex process of industrial design in the context of cultural studies." The show, opening this weekend, contains 300 separate exhibits; over half of those are Apple products. All products released by Apple under Ive's design oversight are supposed to be represented there (the first time that's happened), alongside other leading electronic product design examples. There is particular attention paid to the ties between Apple design and the German industrial giant Braun's products. In addition to a print catalog, the exhibition merits pride of place in the museum's own iPhone app (of course). You can see photos from the exhibit, check opening times and view museum information. The exhibition runs from now until January 15, 2012. Admission is €8 (€5 for Thursday evenings), and the museum is open every day but Monday. I'm planning to check it out in person next week, and I'll share some pictures and impressions from the visit.
Rumors of Jon Ive moving to the UK reportedly false
Jonathan Ive, Apple's senior vice president of product design, has no plans to take his talents back to the United Kingdom, an in-depth profile of the designer in the Daily Mail revealed last week. Recent speculation suggested the 44-year-old planned to cash in his US$30 million in Apple stock options and relocate to a mansion he owns in Somerset so that his children could receive an education in the UK. Last month, the Times of London reported that Ive might be looking to leave Apple whose trend-setting designs he's helped shape for nearly 15 years. The Times suggested Ive remained an Apple employee only to reap the benefits of a "golden handcuffs" option grant from 2008 that he is now eligible to sell. With his net worth currently estimated at $128 million, many believed Ive could easily retire from Apple and return home to the UK with his family. Fortunately for Apple, last week's profile in The Daily Mail states, in no uncertain terms, that Ive has no plans to leave California and that his $4 million home in Somerset, UK, will remain empty. "I'm not sure there is any truth he wants to come back," a former colleague told the Daily Mail. "My last conversations with him were that he was planning to sell his house in the UK." Ive's career at Apple started quietly in 1992 when he often worked out of his own basement office, cranking out futuristic prototypes that were entirely under-appreciated by his superiors. "For the first three years Jony was having a pretty miserable time designing Newton PDAs and printer trays," Clive Grinyer, who co-founded tangerine, a UK consulting firm, with Ive in 1989, told The Daily Mail. "It was a bad existence." Then, Steve Jobs returned to Apple and quickly recognized the value of Ive's design talent. With the responsibility of designing Apple's future, Ive got off to a fast start with the iconic and colorful iMac. Despite falling short of Jobs's high standards for perfection, the iMac was a huge hit with customers and rejuvenated Apple essentially overnight. Since then, Ive has become one of Apple's strongest assets, consistently raising the standard for industrial design both at the company and throughout the world. Many consider Ive and current acting CEO Tim Cook to be Apple's most valuable executives behind Steve Jobs. With Ive apparently staying with Apple for awhile longer, Apple fans can look forward to more beautiful Macs, iPads, iPhones and iPods that define thoughtful, modern industrial design that's both functional and beautiful.
Chloe the Corgi, meet iPad
Well, we've already introduced a cat to the iPad, so a dog would naturally follow, right? Tested.com tried their best to bring their corgi Chloe (I really love corgis, ever since Cowboy Bebop) to the iPad, but as you can see in the video above, she doesn't take to it quite as well as Iggy the cat did. After a little sniffing and experimentation, things go south fast. Poor puppy! Just not muscially-inclined, I guess. Maybe she'd rather wait for the gPad. In the meantime, tell Jobs to get Ive on the line -- there's at least one canine demographic out there for which the iPad's interface isn't quite so intuitive. [via The Daily What, who also posted this fun music video featuring iPhones]
Apple's Jony Ive waxes eloquently about new iMacs on video
Slow pans. Deliberate zooms. White background. Yes, it's another all too brief sit down with Apple's chief designer Jonathan Ive -- this time talking about the company's freshly revised iMacs. Among other things, Ive seems to be particularly keen on how well that those big new 16:9 displays have been integrated into the design, noting that "it's just display, and then no display." Indeed. Head on past the break to check it out for yourself.
Continuity: Executive succession plans in history
We all know that Steve Jobs will eventually leave Apple, and Apple's executive team has a responsibility to draft a succession plan to help minimize the turmoil when that day comes. To figure out what Apple might do, we can look to the past for other examples. Ford Motor Company was founded in 1903 by Henry Ford. In 1918, at the age of 55, Henry handed the presidency of the company to his son Edsel. When Edsel died in 1943, Henry came back to Ford Motor Company ill, "mentally inconsistent, suspicious, and generally no longer fit" for the job. Most of the board didn't want him to be president. Even with no official title, he'd been in de facto control of the company since Edsel took over. Nevertheless, the board elected him (rather than cross him), and he served until the end of the second World War. Gravely ill, he turned control of the company over to his grandson, Henry Ford II, in 1945. Henry Ford died two years later. Steve Jobs has four children, the oldest of whom is Lisa Brennan-Jobs, a 30-year-old journalist. None have publicly expressed any desire to run Apple.
Ive wins National Design Award
It seems like Apple's Johnathan Ive does two things: design great products, and win awards for designing said products. So today's Ive news is of the second order-- at the National Design Awards in Washington on Wednesday, Ive picked up the product design award. According to the Washington Post, Ive was recognized for his work on the iMac, the iBook, and the iPod, but we can't help but think having the iPhone now under his belt didn't hurt either.Awards also went to Adobe for creating Photoshop, the "gold standard" of photo manipulation software, and a few other architects and designers from various places around the country. The awards were handed out by First Lady Laura Bush, who said Ive's work "...has made it more fun to go back in time and play oldies on our iPods." She's still listening to oldies? Someone show this woman the podcast page on iTunes!
Time Gets Background Story on the iPhone
As usual Time magazine seems to have gotten a bit of a sneak peak of a hot new Apple product. In this nice writeup, Lev Grossman discusses some of the background behind the iPhone. Uncle Steve was apparently up to form during the discussions about the iPhone. Grossman notes that "Jobs trash-talked the Treo, the BlackJack, the Sony PSP and the Sony Mylo ("just garbage compared to this"), Windows Vista ("It's just a copy of an old version of Mac OSX") and of course Microsoft's would-be iPod killer, Zune." This welcome article nicely fills out the story of the iPhone a bit.[Via Digg][Edit: fixed link]
