Jonathan Ive is a designer with a capital letter

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:40

Designer of most Apple products, Senior Vice President Jonathan Ive, was a kindred spirit of Steve Jobs. He is not one of the richest or high-profile individuals, but is considered one of the most influential as the creator of the design for the iPod.

Biography

Jonathan Ive was born in 1967 in London, where he spent his childhood and school years. He graduated from Newcastle Polytechnic University where he studied art and design. In 1987 he married, two twins were born in the marriage. He knew his business very well, so already in 1989 he got a job in a design company. Then his first principles began to take shape: work not for the sake of money, but to create a quality product. He was quickly noticed by management and became a co-owner of the firm.

In 1992, Ive moved to San Francisco, as he was invited to Apple. At first, the work did not inspire him, the priority was only profit growth and optimization. Nobody thought about the design, everything was done hastily and thoughtlessly. As a result, the company produced 55 low-grade products. With the return of Jobs, everything changed, and Jonathan Ive, a designer with a capital letter, changed his mindresign from the "apple" corporation. Steve almost immediately noticed and appreciated his brilliant potential, making him a central figure in creating the design of Apple products. This is how the first multicolored iMac was born, selling two million units in its first year.

Apple career

In 1997, Jonathan Ive was promoted to Vice President of Industrial Design at Apple Corporation. After the original premiere of the iMac, Apple's twenty-two-inch laptop followed. In 2000 he received an honorary doctorate from the university. At the same time, the Apple G4 Cube was launched. In 2002, the iMac with 15-inch and 17-inch articulated displays and the eMac went into production. A year later, the premiere of the lightest and thinnest laptop in the world (at that time) PowerBook took place. In 2004, the mini iPod and super slim iMac G5 were released.

In 2005, Ive was promoted to senior vice president and introduced the Mini Mac. In the same year, the iPod nano, iPod touch, and the iPhone touchscreen smartphone were released. He was awarded the Order of the British Empire, and in 2012 he was knighted. Jonathan Ive designed Eve's robot for WALL-E. In 2010, the company introduced the Apple iPad tablet computer. From 2012 to 2013 worked on iOS 7 design.

About human qualities

Jonathan is literally the father of almost all Apple products. With Steve Jobs, they were kindred spirits, were friends, shared viewspeace, though not without controversy. Jobs often came to his creative studio - "glass cube". Jonathan Ive, an Apple designer, is a very humble and shy person who is immersed in work. Many of the company's products, more than 200 patents, were originally conceived and developed by Jobs and Ive. Jonathan had access to all resources and almost as much authority as Steve himself. According to Ive, the key to success is a close-knit team. They have been working together for a long time, they understand each other perfectly, they know what the “best product” should be.

For all his overwhelming success, Jonathan Ive remained a very uncommunicative and secretive person. His main character trait has always been shyness, and he never discusses his personal life at all. Ive lives in California with his wife and children and regularly visits his native England. He loves techno music, knows how to dress with taste, owns an Aston Martin, otherwise no frills. He had a love for fast cars for a long time, even got into a car accident in his Aston.

10 interesting facts about Jonathan Ive

1. As a student, Ive designed watches and mobile phones. They turned out to be similar to modern devices: ultra-thin and thought out to the smallest detail.
2. After graduating from college, already working at Tangerine, he designed a washroom, but the client abandoned the original idea due to its high cost.
3. Jonathan's father was a famous silversmith, developed curriculafor design schools in England.
4. It was Ive who introduced the fashion for white, back in school he created white designer things. At first, Jobs was against white and only agreed with gray and black.
5. When a talented designer wanted to leave Apple, his boss gave him a promotion and motivation.
6. Jonathan enjoys playing techno and other music at the company's studio, where many employees play football, skateboard.
7. Quince's personal studio - "glass cube" - is equipped with a minimum of things, there is a table, a chair, a lamp, there are not even family photos. The cube is so simplistic that employees cannot find the entrance on their first visit.
8. The designer keeps all developments a secret, even from relatives. His children were not in his studio.
9. Ive does not aspire to high positions, and managerial aspects do not bother him much.
10. It was Steve Jobs who called Jonathan and his wife to his room after the operation. He had a tumor removed from his pancreas.

Striving for simplicity

Jonathan Ive, designer, doesn't like spending money on expensive living, but gives his time to create great products that inspire users. The iMac, for example, has a robust, multi-directional screen that allows you to work in any position. This mechanism was developed over 3 months of hard work.

Quince's love of simplicity and convenience was shared by Jobs. The designer defined his main task as the creation of minimalistic devices that do not require instructions. He gets rid ofeverything superfluous, leaving the necessary. Jonathan believes that if the functions of four buttons can be combined into one, then so be it. Apple's goal is convenient devices, the maximum simplification of production. Ive not only worked on the main line of the company, but also created applications for gadgets. The shared vision made Quince and Jobs close friends, resulting in a fruitful collaboration.

The Idea Factory, where Ive spends a lot of time, is a popular location in the campaign. It can be called the Californian heart of the Apple campus. This is not a simple studio where employees ride skateboards, scattering models and prototypes around, but also the workplace of a world-famous designer. New and interesting details about the work of this top-secret organization can be found in a recently published book.

Disagreements

Despite their strong friendship and mutual understanding, Jonathan and Steve did not always find agreement. In an interview for a forthcoming book about Jobs, Ive spoke about previously unknown details. It turned out that Steve appropriated Jonathan's inventions, said that he came up with them himself, without mentioning Quince's name. He didn't like that Jobs called his work his own. Jonathan was not greedy or ambitious, but rather fair.

Prospects

Jony Ive, whose biography confirms that he may in the future become head of Apple's CEO department, was closest to Steve. But for the designer, creativity comes first, not money, his modest character is not at all suitable for highmanagement. In fact, Jonathan "carries" the company on himself. He develops beautiful designs for Apple products, striving for the embodiment of perfection and minimalism, helping to create gadgets that are true works of art. Many tend to believe that Jobs alone pulled Apple out of a state close to bankruptcy, but the heights and success achieved would not have been without Jony Quince.

What will happen to Apple without Quince? Today, one thing is clear: now there is no Jobs, and Quince's power is only increasing. Now he carries out industrial design not only of devices, but also of interfaces and software. However, Jonathan has been sidelined with the exception of new product launch videos.

Conclusion

Jonathan Ive, from whose history it is known that he worked side by side with Steve Jobs for several years, participated in the creation of unique products. This creative alliance pulled Apple out of near-bankruptcy and turned it into an international business. Two books can be read about Jonathan Ive today, released in 2006 and 2007. Modest and not fond of flickering in public, the man created the highest standards of style, beauty and simplicity that have entered the lives of millions of people around the world.